Uncharted: A Fox's Legacy
by DangeresqueOnIce
Summary: Nick Wilde: Treasure hunter and (supposed) descendant of Sir Francis Wilde. With his grumpy mentor and a determined bunny reporter, he'll set out to find the truth behind his ancestor's final voyage. But not everything is as it seems and they soon find themselves racing a dangerous enemy in search of an ancient secret. Do fortune and glory await? Or are some secrets best forgotten?
1. Cut to the Chase

_Author Note: Hello all! DangeresqueOnIce here having finally decided to make an FFN account so I can share my heavily Uncharted inspired AU treasure hunting story with you all! I've been writing this fic over on AO3 for the last year or so and finally decided to start posting over here. I'll probably be posting over here at a rate of about a chapter a week until we're all caught up, but if you feel like checking out the rest, be sure to check over on my AO3 account! Anyways, here's the first chapter and I hope you guys enjoy it!_

* * *

_There must be a beginning of any great matter, but the continuing unto the end until it be thoroughly finished yields the true glory._

\- Sir Francis Wilde, 1584

On a remote chain of islands in the ocean, far beyond the reach of greater mammal society, an ancient stone road ran through a verdant area lush with vegetation. While some plants had managed to grow through cracks in the stone, the road itself remained relatively intact. The place felt abandoned, but it still felt very much alive; trees and bushes swayed in the wind and the chirping of birds and reptiles resounded throughout. Old ruins resided on either side of the path, giving the area a feeling of the serene as well as the mysterious. There was history to the place, it almost felt like one could take in the details just by breathing in the misty air and listening to the ambient sounds. It all helped to make the place feel peaceful, even tranquil.

Said tranquillity was disrupted however as a jeep recklessly tore through the area, sending primal animals scattering in all directions. On this jeep sat a grey-furred rabbit with black tipped ears wearing a purple sleeveless t-shirt and light brown cargo pants. She was awkwardly gripping a steering wheel that was slightly too big for her, trying her best to maintain control of the speeding vehicle. Behind the rabbit was a russet coloured and very panicked looking red fox. The fox was sporting a white shirt with its sleeves rolled up to the elbows and navy jeans, he also had an empty shoulder holster and a belt buckle sporting the image of a fox skull with crossbones. He was currently holding on for dear life to a weathered machine gun that had been mounted on the back of the vehicle.

The jeep was chaotically barreling past the ruins and down the ancient road. In any other situation, the fox would have taken the time to study such a fascinating find. Given how this island had supposedly been abandoned for hundreds if not thousands of years, it was strange that this path and ruins were still so intact and hadn't been reclaimed by the jungle. Unfortunately, contemplating this mystery was not a luxury he could afford at the moment given the current company he and the rabbit had to deal with. The company in question consisted of several pursuing jeeps filled with armed and very unfriendly looking mammals, mammals who the fox was fairly certain did not share his same sense of archaeological curiosity. If his past experience with mercenaries was any indicator, they generally preferred to solve their problems through quicker and more violent means, and right now they viewed him and the bunny as one of those problems.

"Carrots! They're gaining on us!" the fox yelled, trying and failing to hide the panic in his voice. This was definitely not how he imagined this job going, but then again, things not going as expected was pretty par for the course in his life. The pursuing jeeps were rapidly closing the distance between them. It wouldn't be long before they were close enough to open fire on them, and even then, there was no telling how much longer he and the rabbit could keep this up before they either hit a dead end, wiped out, or were hit by some other stroke of bad luck.

"I'm pushing this thing as fast as it'll go, Nick!" _Carrots_ yelled back. "You're the one clinging to a machine gun, how about using it to get them off of us!"

Nick wasn't like some of the other psychos in this line of work, he didn't enjoy killing, but he also knew that it was often unavoidable given the cutthroat nature of most of the competition. When it came to treasure hunting, those that weren't able to kill either quit or wound up as fertilizer, and Nick wasn't keen on either of those options. He firmly gripped the mounted gun hard and aimed it at the approaching jeeps; poring some fire in their direction might just be enough to force them back, that or make them crash, whatever, as long as it reduced the likelihood of him or the rabbit catching a bullet. He took a deep breath before pulling the trigger.

*_ click _*

"Uh oh…", maybe the gun was just jammed. He ejected a round from the chamber and tried again.

* _click _*

"Crap…." he tried pulling the trigger a third time.

*_ click _*

Still nothing….

*_ click _*

* _click _*

* _click _*

"Crap! Crap! Crap!" He would've asked himself if his luck could possibly get any worse, but he was pretty that would have been taken as a challenge and he'd just end up having to deal with something even worse.

"Nick! What's going on back there?" The rabbit yelled, concern bordering on panic becoming apparent in her voice, she probably wasn't looking to get shot or run off the road any more than he was.

"This piece of crap is busted!" Nick called back, slapping his paw against the gun in frustration. "I can't get these guys off of us!"

Unsurprisingly, the answer did little to calm the rabbit. "Can't you figure something else out then? You were the one who said good treasure hunters know how to improvise!"

Nick was about to retort but instead found himself slamming down onto the jeep floor as the roar of machine gun fire broke out, followed shortly by a hail of bullets flying through the space he had just previously been occupying. He kept his body as flat against the surface as possible while bullets whizzed over his head, bouncing off or tearing through the vehicle's frame. All he could do was lay flat against the floor bed and hope that he and the bunny didn't end up catching any strays.

Once the firing had stopped, he grasped the machine gun, trying to pull himself up so he could figure out what had just happened. The jeep had taken a beating from that salvo, but given the fact that it was still tearing through the jungle at an alarmingly fast speed, he guessed nothing important had been hit. It seemed the fox still had at least some luck, if he wasn't trying to keep from being thrown off the jeep by the rabbits evasive driving, he might've even taken a sigh of relief.

Any relief he felt rapidly disappeared as he saw one of the jeeps speeding up beside them to his left, a Kudu helming the wheel and an African wild dog in the back giving them a rather irritated glare as he fumbled to try and reload his jeeps own mounted gun. The fox turned to warn the rabbit only to see the path they were driving on disappear over the edge of a cliff that overlooked a massive body of water.

"Cliff! Cliff! Cliff!"

Nick yelped in panic as the jeep swung to the left, plowing through the bushes and driving onto a rocky outcropping along the edge of the cliff. Much to his chagrin, the pursuing jeeps copied the maneuver, swerving to avoid the drop-off and following them onto the same rocky cliffside. Now that he and the rabbit were caught between a deadly drop off on one side and an impassable barrier on the other, there was very little room to maneuver. The fox seemed to have unnatural levels of luck when it came to being shot at, but he doubted he'd be lucky enough to escape unscathed from another salvo in such a tight corridor.

"Uhh Carrots, we're kinda boxed in right now!" he shouted, "the minute they reload that gun of theirs, we're dead!"

The rabbit reached for something next to her and handed it back to him. "Try this."

Nick grabbed for it before realizing it was a grenade, his brow furrowed, "Uhhh...are you sure you don't have a gun?"

"Not exactly the best time to be picky Nick!"

The fox turned to face the closest of the pursuing jeeps and took a deep breath, lobbing a grenade from one speeding jeep to another wasn't exactly the simplest of tricks.

_Please let this work_.

He pulled the pin on the grenade and tossed it towards the other jeep, to his delight, he saw the beeping explosive land right in the bed of the jeep, only for that delight to turn into a combination of dread and embarrassment as the grenade continued to bounce out of the jeep, and over the adjacent cliff before harmlessly exploding far away from its intended target. Nick briefly saw the face of the wild dog mercenary on the gun, he seemed rather unimpressed by the whole display.

_Well shit…_

Nick's companion seemed to have noticed his failed throw. "Let me guess, you missed," it probably had to do with the distinct lack of an exploding jeep.

Nick struggled to come up with an excuse, "It bounced...funny," he realized how bad that sounded as soon as he said it. _Really Nick? That's the best you could come up with?_

"It _bounced_ funny? You know, for all your bragging, I'd expect you to be a lot better at this sort of thing!" the rabbit exclaimed in an exacerbated tone.

"Hey, I'm not the one who picked the jeep with a busted gun!" Nick countered. "You're so quick to call me out but how about you try getting rid o-" he was cut off and quickly found himself slamming into the mounted gun he was holding on to as the rabbit shifted the jeep to the right and slammed it into the side of their pursuers. The kudu driver was caught off guard by the maneuver and lost control of the jeep as it swayed from side to side before veering off the cliff, taking both of the mercenaries with it into the abyss below.

"Oh….well that works..." Nick sputtered through pained gasps as the jeep evened out and he pried himself off the mounted gun that had so rudely slammed into his rib cage.

"What was that? You were about to say something about me doing it myself?" he heard the bunny gloat, even with the sound of the engine and the rushing wind, he could still hear the cockiness in her voice.

"Ya, ya, very nice," the fox sarcastically shot back, "now tell me how you're gonna get their buddies to fall for that trick, then I'll be impressed!"

The other two jeeps were closing in, staying directly behind them where the rabbit wouldn't be able to ram them. Despite his sarcastic jab, Nick was disappointed to see that the pursuing drivers would not allow her to repeat that trick, as much as he'd hate having to deal with the bunnies gloating later, it still beat dying. While these jeeps were not equipped with the same mounted guns as the one the rabbit had knocked off the cliff, the closest one had something much more bizarre and alarming. Despite his disbelief, Nick saw a lion mercenary as he worked his way onto the hood the vehicle he had been riding.

_What the hell is he doing?_

The lion proceeded to crouch down in preparation for what the fox could only assume was a forward leap.

_There's no way he'd-_

The lion sprung off the hood and landed on the back of their jeep, his legs dangling over the edge. The jeep buckled from the impact but managed to maintain its momentum. The larger mammal was quick to dig into place with his claws to keep from slipping off the back.

_Okay, maybe he would._

Nick sprang forward to try and shove their newest passenger off, only to find himself crashing into an immovable wall of kevlar. In the heat of the moment, he'd forgotten that there was no way he would be strong enough to shove back something as large and strong as a lion. This realization was followed shortly by a heavy force smashing into the fox's forehead. Nick flew backward as stars exploded around him and he collided with the back of the driver's seat. Ignoring the pain, he quickly shook his head and his vision began to clear. He saw that the lion was bleeding from the nose and still trying to pull himself up onto the truck, it looked like the genius had failed to connect properly with the headbutt, hurting himself in the process.

_Guess I should be glad he didn't go for the muzzle._

The fox looked around for a solution, he needed to stop that lion from pulling himself up onto the jeep, he wasn't sure what the lion had in mind, but it would probably end with Nick being turned into a scratching post.

_Crap, I really wish I had a gun working gun right now_. He looked at the mounted gun. _Although..._

He grabbed the gun's barrel and viciously swung it down right into the lions face. The sound of metal colliding against flesh and a pained grunt could be heard as the barrel smashed into the lion's muzzle. Nick wasn't sure how much damage he'd done, but judging from the cracking he heard and the much larger amount of blood now squirting from the large mammal's nose, he was pretty certain he had broken something. This lion's grip on the jeep started to falter and he dug his claws further into the metal in a desperate bid to keep from falling off the back.

"No free rides!" Nick yelled as he swung the gun down into the lions face a second time. That did the trick and the mercenary's grip finally gave away. He let out a panicked cry as he fell tumbling onto the ground only to be run over by a pursuing jeep. The driver attempted a swerve to avoid the large mammal but only succeeded in rolling the jeep over as it hit the unexpected speed bump.

The other jeep swerved to avoid getting caught up in the crash, giving the rabbit and fox some much-needed room. The hyena gunner on the jeep fired at them with his assault rifle but the jeep was moving too much for him to make any steady shots, the bullets all missing their target by a large margin. There was always the risk he would get a lucky shot but that was a pretty minor concern, especially given the much larger concern of two additional jeeps with mounted guns that had managed to catch up to the action.

Nick groaned in frustration, "These guys just don't give up!"

"Uh Nick, we've got a problem, more up ahead!" _Carrots _yelled in a worried tone. Nick turned to see what she was yelling about, only to see three more mounted jeeps and an alarmingly large number of armed mercenaries setting up a roadblock right in their path. "What do we do?!"

"Uhhh...I don't know." Nick stammered, his mind racing to come up with some sort of plan. He looked over at the cliff they were driving next to, he hadn't really had a chance to look before, but now he noticed the large body of water below was actually a large lake.

_Maybe we could…_ _no, that would be insane._

The rabbit seemed to have noticed the lake as well and gave Nick a look filled with determination before turning back to face the rapidly approaching roadblock.

"Carrots...no!" Nick tried to reason. "Best case scenario, we break our damn necks from a drop like that!"

"Not like our other options are any better!" she responded, not looking back.

As soon as the mercenaries ahead of them began opening fire, the rabbit swerved the jeep to the side, sending it over the cliff and into the lake below.

"Ohhhh craaaaaaaaaaaaaap!"

The fox's screaming continued until the jeep connected with the lake's surface and he was promptly thrown from it. The sudden rush of water shocked him and his vision rapidly darkened as he sunk into the murky depths below.

* * *

_**One Week Earlier**_

"You got us lost again, didn't you?" a deep voice growled, snapping Nick out of his thoughts. He turned over to look at the mammal in question, a sandy coloured fennec fox that seemed far too small to have such a deep voice. The small fox wore a red pocketed t-shirt with tan cargo pants and was currently gripping the steering wheel of their motorboat. He was showing signs of old age with streaks of grey fur visible on his muzzle, but it hadn't done too much to slow him down, or least he'd often boast that it didn't. He was Nick's grumpy partner, mentor, and best friend; while most mammals knew him as Finnick, Nick had a much more aggravating nickname for him.

"Ah, come on Gramps, you worry too much! Besides, we're treasure hunters!" Nick threw his arms in the air, gesturing dramatically. "Adventurers!" he only managed to get an irritated scowl from his diminutive partner for his efforts. "Real treasure hunters never get lost! We're just on the way to finding _new_ adventures!"

"Yeah, well if we're finding new adventures, they'd better be the kind that gets us paid," Finnick responded, the scowl loosening a bit but still remaining plastered on his face.

"And we will little guy," Nick said, patting the smaller fox on the head. "In the nearly twenty years we've known each other, have I ever given you any reason to doubt me?" A smug grin appearing on the larger fox's face as he said it.

Finnick bared his teeth, "You don't want me to answer that," he growled before slapping away Nick's paw. "And if you touch me like that again, I'll-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you'll bite my face off. You really need to change up your comebacks," Nick interrupted, dismissively waving his paw in the direction of his aggravated partner.

He reached into a small pack attached to his belt, pulling out a worn journal that had a piece of tape slapped on the cover with the words 'Francis Wilde' written on it. He flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a map that was yellowish in colour and faded with age, it depicted a coastline with one area circled in red ink. Above the circled area was a drawing depicting a distinct looking rock formation with a natural archway that ran underneath it as well as four spires shooting upwards that caused it to resemble a paw with an arched hole at the bottom. A phrase had been written next to the picture in the same red ink that had been used to mark the map: 'The paw will show the way.'

"And seriously, we're not lost. Sir Francsis' expedition definitely came this way." Nick gestured to the map, pointing at the picture, "All we have to do now is find this landmark and it should lead us to whatever he was looking for out here."

Finnick simply grunted before turning his attention back to the steering wheel. That was usually as close as he ever got to being in a good mood without alcohol or a girl being involved so Nick decided to accept the victory and move onto other matters.

The red fox took the opportunity to take in his surroundings, he had spent so much time either navigating or planning that he never really had a chance to really look over the shoreline they had spent the last several hours coasting along. As far as he could see, the shore was covered in sheer cliffs of white limestone. The surfaces were mostly straight, although signs of erosion could be seen from the endless crashing of ocean waves against them, and the way the sunlight reflected off the surface caused it to glow. This combined with the glittering of the water created a brightness that many mammals would have thought was quite beautiful, but to a nocturnal mammal like Nick, was just irritating and gave him a headache. All of a sudden, taking in the scenery didn't seem to so appealing anymore. Instead, he distracted himself with the ring tied around his neck, rubbing it between his thumb and index fingers. It wasn't anything fancy, a silver ring band with an engraving that read 'Sic Parvis Magna' on it and nothing else, but it was still important to him, it reminded him of why he followed this path in life. Treasure hunting was a rough and dangerous way to live, but he had a hard time imagining himself doing anything else. The ring certainly did a lot to inspire him to keep pressing on, but he still couldn't help but wonder how things could have been if his life had gone in a different direction.

Before he could continue that line of thought, Nick found himself snapped out of his thoughts again by Finnick as he spoke up. "Maybe you should let our _friend_ over there know what's up instead of staring at that damn ring all day." The desert fox gestured over to a small grey rabbit near the back of the boat. She held a camcorder in her paws, one of those fancy _Pandasonic _models that would probably get her mugged by most mammals in this line of work if they knew how much those things were actually worth. She was recording the cliffs they had been sailing past, taking in every single detail from the looks of it.

Nick furrowed his brow as he watched the bunny, he didn't know much about her beyond the fact she was some reporter from Zootopia who had been focusing on stories pertaining to archaeology. He had never been a fan of working with mammals who were unfamiliar with the treasure hunting business, especially those coming from Zootopia of all places, but money had been pretty tight and she had the funds they needed for this trip, he couldn't afford to be picky.

"Hey, Carrots!" He called out to the rabbit, not getting a response back. With ears that large, there's no way she would've normally missed that, she must've been too focused on filming.

He got a bit closer and tried again, "Hopps?" Once again, she failed to notice, her attention still fixed on the cliffs along the shore. This bunny was clearly stuck in her own little world right now.

Deciding that enough was enough, he approached her from behind and bent down so that his muzzle was right next to her ears before yelling loud enough to ensure she would finally take notice, "Hey Judy!"

The next thing Nick knew, he felt something small and grey connect with the side of his head, everything went fuzzy after that. The next thing he knew he was flat on his back with his arms, legs, and tail all sprawled in random directions. Once his vision stopped spinning, he saw a worried looking bunny in a purple t-shirt standing over him, the camcorder she had been holding was swaying back and forth from a strap around her neck. She was trying to say something that he couldn't quite make it out. He also swore that he could hear a deep voice laughing in the background.

Nick let out a groan before speaking up, "You're gonna have to repeat that, rabbit…"

"Are you okay?" the rabbit asked in a concerned voice. The deep laughing of what the red fox now realized was Finnick could still be heard, apparently he was laughing too hard to drive since the boat seemed to have stopped moving and he couldn't hear the engine anymore.

"I'm okay….I think…" Nick groaned as he shook his head and snapped himself out of his daze. _Underestimating the bunny already are you Wilde? _Nick silently chastised himself. _Way to forget the first lesson of being a treasure hunter._

A relieved look appeared on the rabbit's face as she offered a paw. Nick reached forward and grabbed it, letting her help pull him up. "Cheese and crackers Mr. Wilde, you really shouldn't sneak up on mammals like that!"

"Didn't think you'd be so jumpy Carrots," Nick grunted as he finished getting to his feet and brushed himself off. "Besides, I wasn't sneaking up on anything, I yelled at you several times before you decided to roundhouse me." He groaned again as he rubbed at the side of his head where the bunnies foot had connected, "What the hell was that anyway? Some sort of bun fu?"

"I'm aware of how dangerous it can be out here Mr. Wilde, I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't know how to take care of myself." She grabbed the camera hanging from her neck and checked it over before glancing back at Nick with a mildly irritated look on her face. "And how many times do I have to tell you, it's Judy, not _Carrots_?"

"What? You don't like my term of endearment?" Nick asked with a shrug, "also, call me Nick, Mr. Wilde is way too formal, makes me feel all weird and….wrong." He made an exaggerated shudder to emphasize his point.

"Alright _Nick _," Judy conceded, "but can you at least stop calling me Carrots?"

He stroked his chin in mock thought for a second before speaking, "I could call you Fluff? Do you like Fluff? I think it sounds pretty nice."

Judy raised a finger, looking as if she might try to argue some more before apparently deciding it wasn't worth the effort and lowered it again. "Moving on...what was it you wanted to tell me so badly that you felt the need to start yelling in my ears?"

"Well _Carrots_, before you smacked me upside the head, I was going to let you know we found the area Sir Francis was evidently so interested in," he gestured to the coastline they had been sailing past. "Those cliffs you were so enraptured with just so happen to be part of the coastline he charted."

Nick retrieved the map from his journal and showed it to Judy, tapping at the circled landmark with a clawed digit. "Now all we have to do is find this 'paw' Wilde marked, and it should lead us to whatever he was looking for out here." He passed the map to Judy before turning his head to yell in Finnicks direction, "Assuming _some _mammals can stop laughing long enough to get off their tails and start driving the damn boat, Gramps!"

"Come on kid, you can't seriously expect me to handle the boat after watching you get laid low by a bunny," Finnick managed to get out between fits of laughter, "that's gotta be a safety hazard or something!"

A flash of irritation crossed Nick's muzzle that was mirrored by the rabbit next to him, "Really Gramps? Because I seem to remember you being the one who always goes on about how any mammal can be dangerous." Nick would admit, he had made a big mistake in assuming the bunny wouldn't have tried or even could've been able to knock him flat like that. Any mammal could be deadly in this line of work, regardless of size. Hell, the small ones frequently ended up being the deadliest since dumb rookies were often quick to dismiss them as an actual threat. It was easy to forget that the size of a mammal didn't matter much they were holding a gun to your head or a knife to your throat. Nick rubbed his still sore head, they could also kick pretty hard it seems.

"I know, that's what makes it so funny," Finnick answered as his laughter finally died down. "That head of yours is already too big, you need a good humbling like that to remind you of the rules and why we follow 'em," his voice then took on a more serious tone as he shot his larger partner a piercing look, "because it won't be nearly as funny if you screw up like that against some asshole who actually wants you dead." Caught off guard by the jarring shift in tone, Nick was unable to come up with any retort before the smaller fox started up the engine again and returned his focus to driving the boat.

Nick looked over at Judy and saw a worried look in her eyes. He figured that despite her previous claims, a reporter wasn't exactly used to the kind of dangers that came with treasure hunting. He tried to lighten the mood with an insincere smile and equally insincere laugh, "Ha...ha..., well that's Gramps for ya, can be a real downer at times. Don't worry about it, it doesn't get as bad as he claims." A lie, of course, it could and frequently did get that bad, if not worse. Regardless, turning back now would've been very problematic given the risks he had already taken to make this expedition happen in the first place. He needed to find a way to placate the bunny before she got any ideas about abandoning this whole thing.

Clearing his throat with a cough, the fox continued, "Anyways, we're on the right track, if Sir Francis came out here, we'll find what it was he was looking for once we hit that landmark."

Judy looked down at the map, her brow furrowing in concentration. Nick wasn't sure if she was actually mulling over the details or just trying to distract herself from Finn's 'uplifting' little speech. She looked back up at Nick, "Did you seriously mark up Wilde's 400-year-old map!?"

That wasn't exactly the reaction Nick had been expecting from her, still, it was better than having her dwell on Finnick's words. "What?" he shrugged, "he wouldn't mind."

The rabbit gave him an incredulous look, "I just can't believe you would do something so thoughtless to an important artifact like that, especially one that belonged to your ancestor." She lectured, waving the map in his face. "I mean seriously Nick, this is a piece of history!"

The irony of her lecturing him on how to treat artifacts while waving the map around in such a reckless manner was not lost on the fox, but he decided against calling her out on it. "Trust me Fluff, that's nothing compared to what we're on to here." A smug grin then started to appear on his face when he noticed her choice of words, "besides, I seem to recall you not believing me when I said that."

"Well I _did _do my research, and apparently Sir Francis Wilde didn't have any heirs," Judy stated, a healthy dose of skepticism in her voice.

"Well history can be wrong, that's why you're all the way out here with us, isn't it?" Nick pointed a clawed digit at the rabbit. "Officially, historians say Sir Francis retired in 1596 and never left the Pine Isles again, and yet you came all the way out here with us because _you _intend to prove otherwise."

Before Judy could respond, Finnick called over to them. "Hey, Kid! You and the bunny better get your tails in gear, 'cause unless I'm seeing things, it looks we've just found that 'paw' of yours!"

Nick and Judy both directed their gazes over to the coastline. Just as the old desert fox said, the giant 'paw' they had been looking for was visible in the distance and rapidly growing in size as they sailed closer. It towered far above the cliffs around it with finger-shaped structures jutting into the sky and ring like patterns encircling them as they went down to what could best be described as the giant paw's 'pad.' At the base of it was a large opening leading to a bay with a beach landing visible on the opposite end.

Seeing that they had finally reached the next step in their search, Nick looked over at Judy with an eager glint in his eye. "Well then, I guess it's time for us to get going," he took the map back from her, placing it back in his journal. He placed a paw on the rabbit's shoulder and looked into her eyes, seeing a similar eagerness with a hint of what he assumed was nervousness. "Now come on, let's go find out what it was our dear buddy Sir Francis was doing out here."


	2. On the Trail of Sir Francis Wilde

_Author Note: Hello again! DangeresqueOnIce back to post another chapter of Uncharted: A Fox's Legacy and NOT Chapter 1: Cut to the Chase as it was apparently called for about a day (I'm new to the FFN system, sue me). Anyways, should be on track to continue posting once a week until this version is all caught up. And again, if you don't feel like waiting to read the rest of it, you can check it out over on my AO3 account (Dangeresque_On_Ice). Anyways, here's chapter 2, hope you guys like it. :)_

* * *

"Michael McDingo?"

"No, Fleetwood Yak?"

"Can't say I have, Fluff, maybe Kenny Hoggins?"

"Nope, not him either, how about Guns N' R- _ACK!" _Judy yelped in surprise.

"Guns N' Rack?"

Nick heard a bunch of sputtering before the rabbit finally spoke up again. "Sorry, got slapped in the face by a branch." Some more sputtering followed before she continued, "I think I got some of it in my mouth..."

"Gotta be more careful, Carrots," Nick chuckled. "Never know what you'll run into out here, from nasty pitfalls to surprise attacks from angry plants."

They had been trekking through the jungle for nearly an hour now. Finding a good spot to moor the boat once they reached the beach was easy enough, but searching for whatever Sir Francis had found out here proved to be a far more difficult task. That was the problem with searching for long-forgotten sites in thick jungles far from civilized society, you couldn't just punch in the GPS coordinates, and whatever guides or maps you used were probably vague and out of date.

While they eventually managed to find an ancient path that hopefully would lead them in the right direction, the thick brush throughout the jungle and even covering the path itself made the area difficult and exhausting to traverse. The stubborn vegetation combined with the intense heat and humidity of the jungle pressed down on them hard, but Judy and Nick had been coming up with random activities to help distract themselves from the oppressive conditions. Discussing the bands each of them listened to was just their most recent activity before the plant's surprise attack. Finnick, however, hadn't shown interest in any of their activities, instead just following them and occasionally grumbling about how much he needed a cigar.

Nick looked up and saw an opening where the thick vegetation seemed to finally let up. "On the bright side, you won't have to worry about being menaced by plants anymore," he pushed through the last of the bushes and descended into a rocky gully with a flowing stream at the bottom.

The fox stopped for a second as he waited for the others to catch up. His fur was probably a sticky mess at this point and he could feel his tails and ears starting to sag, so a relatively easy hike through the gulley was definitely appreciated. As he splashed some water in his face to help cool off, he saw a noticeably tired yet determined Judy break through the bushes behind him, still struggling to shake off loose twigs and leaves that had managed to get caught in her muddled fur.

"Hey, Judy! Think fast!"

"Huh? _EEK!"_ the rabbit squeaked in surprise as water from the stream was splashed into her face.

"Aww, didn't think fast enough," Nick laughed.

"You're lucky that water was exactly what I needed, or I'd be furious right now." Nick's surprise had left the rabbit dripping from her ears down to her waist. She seemed partially annoyed but mostly refreshed by the blast of cool water. "So I'll let it slide this time."

"Your mercy is appreciated, Fluff."

There was more rustling in the bushes as Finnick finally pushed his way through and into the gulley, looking to be in a miserable state. While the desert fox generally did a good job of hiding it, his age had definitely slowed him down over the years and it was obvious how exhausted he was.

"Hold...up...you two!" Finnick forced out between exhausted pants, "I'm not as young as I used to be."

The older treasure hunter looked like a wreck, his fur was a ruffled mess with his tail sagging against the ground and his large ears limply hanging from his head. He was bent over at the knees, looking like he was about to keel over from the exhaustion. Given his age, having to push through a jungle filled with vegetation that frequently towered over him couldn't have been easy. That being said, the stubborn old fox always managed to keep up despite all the wear and tear, something that Nick had always admired about him and would often find a way to compliment him on in a back-pawed manner.

"You weren't too old for that otter bartender back in Bochi," the red vulpine chuckled.

"Ha! Well, that was different, although I must admit, equally exhausting."

Judy was staring at the two foxes with a perplexed look on her face, her head tilted in confusion, "What are you two talking about?"

Nick jabbed a thumb in Finnicks direction as the small fox was bent over the stream and throwing water into his face, "Well, Ol' Gramps here just so happens to be quite the charmer when it comes to the ladies, he's always got a story or two to tell as long as you don't mind some vivid details."

"Ah Marisa, that otter was one hell of a sweetheart, had a smile that would melt your heart and a muzzle like you wouldn't believe," as Finnick talked, Nick noticed a pink tint on Judy's face and a steadily increasing look of dread as she realized just where the diminutive fox was going with this. "A real firebrand too, those claws of hers weren't just for show, and she sure as hell wasn't afraid to use 'em it if she ever caught you messing around," Finnick continued, his muzzle starting to curl into a nostalgic smile. "Wee little thing as far as otters went, but oh mam, even for a mustelid, the way she could twist that body of hers was a marvel to behold, they called her 'The Spinner' cause of the way she'd use her tail to-"

"Okay! Okay! That's enough! Cheese and crackers, that's not something I need to hear about!" Judy cut in, holding her ears against her head in embarrassment and her face positively glowing red beneath her wet fur. "I'm sure you and this 'Spinner' had a wonderful time together, but I'd rather not hear the details, thank you very much!"

Finnick shrugged, "Your loss sweetheart, I've got tons more you'd be missing out on, like this one time-"

Nick cleared his throat, putting an end to his mentors reminiscing, "As entertaining as the prospect of watching Fluff die from awkwardness would be, I think it's about time we got back to the whole treasure hunting thing." He turned and started making his way down the gulley, Judy catching up to him while Finnick followed behind.

"Wasn't he just about to pass out a few minutes ago?" the reporter whispered to Nick. "Now you'd think he was never tired in the first place."

Nick nodded his head in Finnick's direction, "When it comes to bragging about his past conquests it doesn't matter how tired he is, Ol' Gramps will always find his second wind."

"Hey, I don't just talk about conquests, I take pride in all aspects of my work," Finnick beamed as the other two kept walking. "Like that time I pawned a phony Santo Hedeta idol off on Big back in Zootopia, pretty risky move, but by the time he figured it out, I was...Hey! Are you two even listening?"

"Hanging on your _every_ word, Gramps."

"Bah, why waste my breath..."

Things were quiet for the next few minutes as they just appreciated the easier hike in silence and occasionally splashed some more water on their faces before Finnick finally spoke up again, "You really think Sir Francis came all the way out here? We're a long way from the Pine Isles."

"Well the map says he came this way, I don't see why he'd lie about it," Nick answered as he continued forward, scanning the trees and visible horizon for any signs of mammal-made features.

"Well, if he's your ancestor, then I figure he's probably as full of crap as you are and just made it all up to impress a girl or something."

Nick snickered at the jab, "If he was like me, then he just wanted to show everybody else how awesome mammals like us are." It was then that he noticed a structure that was poking out of the trees in the distance. He pointed out the ruins for the others to see, shooting Finnick a smug grin as he did, "and to show what idiots everybody else is for doubting us."

Upon seeing the structure in the distance, Judy immediately sped off running, briefly turning around to face the two foxes and hop with giddy excitement. "Come on guys! What are you waiting for? This could be one of the greatest archaeological finds in years!" She turned around and sped off again.

Nick shook his head with a smile, "Huh, guess that's what gives her a second wind then. Can't remember the last time you were ever this excited about finding something."

"Yeah, well, I'll save my excitement for when we've got something that actually pays," Finnick grumbled.

"Well then, better make sure you can keep up if you want your cut old timer," Nick snarked before rushing on ahead. Finnick let out an irritated sigh and ran after him.

By the time the foxes had left the gulley and caught up to Judy, she was standing at the edge of a chasm, waving her camera around as she took in the scenery. On the other side was a dull grey wall that was concealing most of the structure they had seen earlier. The stonework on the wall appeared to have been expertly crafted, sporting various symbols and carvings, but the ravages of time had worn them down to the point where Nick couldn't even tell what most of them were supposed to be. There was one symbol, however, that was more common than the others, some of those carvings were still intact enough to see that they depicted some sort of flower.

"Well this looks promising," Nick remarked, eyeing their newfound discovery, "now how do we get over there?"

"It looks like there's a set of doors on the other side," Judy pointed to an arch on the wall with some heavy looking doors. "I'm betting there's some sort of bridge across."

"More like _was_," Finnick pointed to bits of stone rubble that looked like it had fallen into the chasm below. It was in pieces and decayed, but it still resembled the cracked remains of a bridge. "Probably collapsed into the chasm ages ago."

"Okay, so guess we can't just walk across," Nick pondered, "Not like it's ever that simple in these types of jobs.

"Does that mean you have a plan?" Judy's question drew Nick's attention, he briefly glanced in her direction to see that her Pandasonic was pointed at him before he turned his attention back to the chasm. A large branch hanging overhead caught his eye, it looked like it might be sturdy enough to support his weight.

"Of course I have a plan," Nick turned back to shoot the camera a toothy smile, "I always have a plan."

"No you don't," Nick's smile changed to a frown at Finnick's interruption.

"Come on, Gramps! You know I've always got a plan up my sleeve."

"Improvising is not a plan, Kid."

"Whatever, I have an actual plan this time," the red fox grabbed a rope with an attached grappling hook from his belt. "Now watch as my totally awesome plan gets us across this chasm and one step closer to that payday you won't shut up about." He looked over at Judy, flashing another cocky grin at her camera, "Ready to see how it's done, Fluff?"

"The viewers and I will be waiting in anticipation!" Nick had the vague suspicion that she was mocking him.

"Perfect," he loosely gripped the rope, spinning the hook in place several times before throwing it. The hook sailed through the air towards its target and struck dead on, a throw that would have been quite impressive if not for the fact he had been trying wrap the hook around the branch. Instead, Nick watched with mild embarrassment as it bounced off and fell into the chasm below, being left to dangle by the rope gripped in his paws.

"Nice..." the unimpressed tone in the bunny's voice caused Nick's ears to twitch as he fought the instinctual urge to flatten them against his skull. Despite what his instincts were telling him, he seriously doubted that it would _actually_ make him small enough to escape her notice. It was times like this he was glad his fur was so red though, it did a pretty good job of hiding his embarrassment.

_Still doesn't change the fact you made a complete fool of yourself..._

"That...was on purpose…" Nick stammered, trying in vain to salvage his ego, "I….just wanted to show you what_ not_ to do first!"

"Of course," the rabbit said in an annoyingly unconvinced tone, the smug look she was shooting the fox made it clear how thoroughly he had botched his attempt at showing off. The unimpressed look Finnick was flashing him definitely didn't help matters either.

"Now let me show you how to do it properly," he continued, trying desperately to push down the embarrassment he was feeling. He pulled the hook back up and threw it a second time. Luck was on his side this time as the hook sailed over the branch, wrapping around it several times before locking in place. "See? Nothing to it."

"Hey Kid, if you're finished embarrassing yourself in front of the bunny, how about we get going?" Finnick deadpanned.

Nick rolled his eyes at the smaller fox, "Yeah, yeah! I'm on it." He tugged on the rope a few times to make certain it wouldn't break before leaping forward. He felt the air rush through his fur as he swung in an ark, loosening his grip on the rope just before reaching the peak of his swing and using the gained momentum to carry himself the rest of the way to the other side.

As he landed, a sharp pain shot up through his footpads and into his legs as he hit the surface harder than anticipated. He let out a pained grunt as he stumbled over, but still managed to catch himself as he landed on all four paws.

"Are you alright?" the rabbit called out, her voice laced with concern.

"Yeah…" Nick muttered in a pained tone as he pulled himself back up onto his feet, "didn't quite stick the landing..."

"Way to fumble the rope, Kid."

"What?" Nick turned and saw that the rope was now dangling in the middle of the chasm out of the reach of all three of them. _Great…_ he thought to himself,_ must've slipped out of my paw while I was stumbling_. He knew the rope was strong enough to support his weight if he was just swinging, but he never bothered to check if it would support him if he tried jumping to grab it.

"Okay, so jumping back to grab the rope would be too risky, stay there and I'll see if I can find a way to make a path across." Nick turned to the wall and started piecing together a plan, "These ruins are pretty old, maybe I could find a pillar large enough to-"

The fox was interrupted as he heard the tapping of footpads as the grey bunny jumped, he turned around to the sight of her swinging across the chasm and landing next to him with the rope in her paws.

"Oh…that works too...I guess..."

Judy had a look on her face that was somewhere between giddy and smug. "Not bad, huh?"

Nick tilted his paw from side to side in an unimpressed gesture, "Eh, it was sloppy."

"Sloppy, huh?" the doe challenged, "What does that say about the _big time treasure hunting_ _fox_ who hurt himself trying to get over?"

To his immense frustration, Nick stood there for what felt like entirely too long trying and failing to come up with a snappy comeback. "Just give me the damn rope," he finally conceded, grabbing it out of the rabbit's paws. This was not his day, he certainly wasn't expecting to be shown up by a reporter and a bunny of all things.

_And now you're underestimating the bunny again_, Nick silently chastised himself. _How the hell are you not dead yet Wilde?_

"If you two are done flirting, maybe you can toss me the rope now?" Finnick yelled from across the chasm, his arms folded and a look on his face that was a mix of irritated and impatient.

"Alright Gramps, here it comes." Nick threw the loose end of the rope back across the chasm to Finnick. "You sure you don't want me to find you another way across?"

"Don't coddle me, Kid, I ain't dead yet," the diminutive fox growled as he grabbed the rope before swinging across to the other side. The small fox sailed through the air and landed on the other side, the rope still held firmly in his paws.

"Nicely done!" Judy clapped excitedly.

That was enough to lift the grumpy mammal's mood, a smile creeping onto his muzzle. "Ha! Still got it!" he boasted as he tugged the hook and rope loose from the branch before tossing it over to Nick.

Nick proceeded to wrap up the hook and rope and reattach it to his belt. "Yup, you still got it old timer."

The three of them turned their attention to the set of doors in the archway blocking access to the rest of the ruins. Like the wall, there were patterns carved into the wood, but they had become too faded to make out any of the details.

Nick scratched his head as he examined the door, "Well this looks like the way in, but I don't see any way to get it open from this side."

"I'm guessing they didn't want just anybody wandering in there," Judy speculated as she walked up to the door, filming it with her Pandasonic. "This wood looks pretty rotten, maybe we could just force the doors open if we pushed?"

"Worth a shot," Nick came up to the door, pressing his weight against it and pushing while Judy followed suit. "Hey Gramps, mind lending us a paw here?"

"Sure thing, Kid," Finnick started pushing against the door.

The three of them grunted in exertion as they shoved with all their might. The wood creaked and groaned under the pressure, but despite their efforts, it wouldn't budge.

Realizing the fruitlessness of this plan, Finnick stepped away from the door, rubbing at his sore arm. "No way we're moving that thing."

"Yeah, I don't think so," Nick agreed as he and Judy took a step back, looking the door up and down. "Whoever these guys were, they certainly built their stuff to last." He looked past the arch to the wall itself.

_Hmm, back in its heyday, this probably would've been too smooth to climb, but now…_

"You know, this wall is pretty worn down, I might be able to climb to the top," the wear and tear had caused a number of imperfections such as cracks, holes, and small ledges to form that could probably act as decent pawholds for an experienced treasure hunter like himself. "I could drop down into the temple grounds and see if there's a way to get that door open from the other side."

Judy craned her neck up to look at the wall. Judging from the twitching of her nose, Nick guessed she saw such a task as more than a little daunting. "Really? You think you can climb that?"

"I'm a treasure hunter Carrots, this sort of thing is pretty much half the job."

As Nick moved to start climbing the wall, the clicking of a lighter caused his ears to flick, followed by his nose twitching as it was suddenly assaulted by the smell of smoke. He already knew what it was, but he looked over at the source anyways, Finnick leaning against the wall with a lit cigar in his paw.

"Now? Seriously?"

Finnick shrugged, "Not like we're going anywhere until you figure out how to get past those doors. Sure as hell beats standing around doing nothing."

"Fair enough," Nick turned back to the wall, cracking his paws in anticipation. "Well, Carrots, you have fun down here basking in Gramps and his cancer-inducing glory, I've got some climbing to do."

The fox then started his climb, grasping at any holes and ledges large enough to support him as he pulled himself further up the wall.

"Are you sure this is safe?" a nervous sounding Judy called up to him.

"Nope!"

It was tiring work, but Nick had spent so much time jumping around old ruins and cliffs that it had become second nature to him at this point. He moved quickly at first, practically gliding from one pawhold to the next, but the further up the wall he went, the more difficult it became as decent spots became harder to reach and he found himself frequently having to reach dangerously far out or even make small jumps just make any progress. He hoped he wouldn't have to be doing too much of this today, it was pretty physically demanding stuff and his muscles were already starting to ache. He finally came to a narrow ledge that jutted out along the wall perimeter. Pulling himself up on top of it, he started shimmying along, keeping his body as flat against the wall as possible as he looked for a decent pawhold and tried not to imagine what would happen if he slipped from such a great height.

_This seemed like such a good idea down there..._

Finally, he found a gash in the side of the wall large enough for him to firmly grasp that was only _slightly_ out of his reach. He steadied himself, getting ready to jump up and grab for the pawhold. He took a deep breath and tried to leap only to end up experiencing a dropping sensation and the sound of splitting stone as the ledge gave out from under him.

"Oh, shit!"

As the ledge cracked and fell away, Nick instinctively unsheathed his claws, digging them into the wall just short of the gash. His claws scraped against the stone wall, assailing him with a harsh grating sound reminiscent of hooves against chalkboard like back when he was a kit still going to school. Shaking that thought loose, the vulpine quickly shot his left paw up as far as it would go and managed to successfully grab onto the ledge above while his other paw remained jammed into the wall by its claws. He let out an exasperated laugh, conflicted feelings of relief and panic racing through him as he heard pieces of the collapsing stone ledge smash against the surface below.

"Nick!" Judy shouted in alarm.

"Son of a bitch!" Finnick cursed as he dodged the falling debris, "You alright, Kid?"

Not willing to further test his luck, Nick wrenched his right paw free of the wall and reached up to grab onto the ledge with both paws. "I'm okay! Ha,ha...I'm alright...Think I kinda messed up my claws though, they don't tend to get along well with solid stone."

"Cheese and crackers Nick, you had us worried!" Judy called up in a relieved tone.

"Yeah, be more careful next time, Kid," Finnick added. "You made me drop my cigar."

Nick rolled his eyes at the desert fox's comment, not that he'd be able to see it from all the way down there. "Glad to know you care, Gramps," he pulled himself up the last few pawholds to the top of the wall. Finally stopping to take a look at his paws, he saw that several of his claws had been chipped away during the debacle. He would've preferred to have them in good condition in case of an emergency and he found himself needing to claw some asshole in the face, but then again, his claws wouldn't have done him any good if he had fallen several stories and splattered himself on the ground so he couldn't really complain.

"What do you see up there?" Finnick asked once he saw that his partner had reached the top.

From up on top of the wall, Nick had a much better view of the ruin in question which consisted of a raised structure reminiscent of a black ziggurat. There was a terrace level raised above the surface that contained the only visible entrance, all the others seeming to have either collapsed or been blocked by rubble. Like the wall, it was covered in worn looking carvings and symbols, and likewise, the flower symbol was the most common one.

"Remember that structure we saw from the gulley?," Nick yelled back, "It looks like some sort of temple."

"Think it's what we're looking for?" Judy asked.

"Could be, hold on, I'm gonna climb down and see if I can find a way to get you two inside."

There were a number of bollard like structures on top of the wall that looked like suitable points to wrap his grappling hook around. After doing just that and making sure the rope was firmly attached, he climbed over the wall and started repelling his way down. His downward climb ended up being far less eventful as he quickly reached the bottom after several jumps without incident. "Huh, that was almost disappointing," he said to no one in particular.

_Enjoy it while you can Wilde, knowing your luck, this just means something worse will probably happen later._

"I made it to the other side," he called out, pulling the rope loose and wrapping it up again once it hit the ground.

"Great, Kid!" Finnick called back. "Think you can get those doors open?"

"Not sure yet…" Nick looked around for anything that could help him. He noticed a number of odd-looking wooden barrels that definitely didn't belong. "Some old barrels over here, definitely not local from the looks of 'em."

"What's in them?" Judy inquired from the other side of the wall.

Nick stepped closer to one of the barrels. There wasn't much of a scent to it beyond some light notes of charcoal, so he pulled off one of the lids and looked inside. The black powder inside told him everything he needed to know. "They're filled with gunpowder. We're definitely on the right track, then. I'm guessing Francis and his crew brought them to blast through anything they couldn't open or get around."

"Great! Use them to blow the doors open," Finnick suggested.

Nick sighed and started pushing the closest barrel over to the doors. A strenuous task to say the least given that the barrels were at least a foot taller than him and probably two to three times his weight. "Sure Gramps, I'll just go ahead and start rolling some barrels at least twice my weight and chock full of centuries-old, super safe gunpowder," he mumbled to himself. "It's fine, really, my back could use the workout and that stuff _probably_ won't blow me to pieces or anything."

"Hey, Kid! What's taking so long, you throw out your back or something?"

Nick let out a frustrated sigh, "In case you didn't know, Gramps, these barrels are pretty heavy, oh, and filled with _gunpowder! S_o _sorry_ if I'm holding you up because I want to take my time and do this without bits of fox being scattered all over the temple grounds!"

"Well hurry it up already, we ain't got all day."

Nick heard the sound of a slap followed by Judy's voice, but he couldn't make out what she was saying.

A few moments later he heard Finnick call out again in a more subdued voice, "Uh...I mean...take all the time you need, and be careful with those barrels."

Nick smiled, he'd have to thank Judy for that later.

"All right, Gramps, but only because you asked so nicely." Nick continued pushing the barrel until it was sitting next to the door. "All right got it in place, now stand back!"

Nick moved away from the door, gauging whether or not he'd be a safe distance from the blast once the barrel detonated.

_This should be safe_, he thought to himself.

_Probably..._

_Maybe..._

_Okay, maybe I'll move a bit further back..._

He backed away from the barrel a few more steps, and then a second time, and then a third time.

_You know what? Maybe I should just go ahead and find something to hide behind..._

He eyed a collapsed pillar that was just perfect and made sure he was safely behind it. "You guys ready yet?"

"Uhhh, are we sure we want to do this Nick?" Judy asked. "This is supposed to be an archaeological expedition, right? Blowing up old ruins doesn't seem like the sort of thing archaeologists would do."

"Then I guess it's a good thing we're treasure hunters and not archaeologists, Fluff," Nick replied. "Besides, unless you and Gramps want to climb that wall yourselves, we don't really have any other options."

There was a long awkward pause before the rabbit responded, "Point taken..."

"Okay, listen, I'm getting tired of yelling at you guys from the other side of this wall, can you two hurry up so I can get on with this?"

"We're ready, Kid, just try not to blow us up!"

"No promises!" Nick reached for the pistol in his shoulder holster and flipped the safety off. It was a pretty good sign that he'd gotten this far before he had to use it, he tended to prefer the jobs when there weren't quite so many bullets flying around. He popped up over the column and took careful aim at the barrel. He exhaled deeply as he squeezed the trigger and let loose a bullet, it proved to be enough as it struck the barrel and ignited the gunpowder within.

The fox's ears instinctively went flat against his head in response to the resounding roar of the blast as the whole archway was consumed in a giant fireball. Bits of stone and wood debris shot in all directions as the explosive inferno rapidly expanded before dissipating into scattered flames and embers. Even as he ducked beneath the pillar, he still felt a blast of heat briefly wash over his fur before he was completely concealed behind cover. After waiting a moment, he raised his head and saw the smoke from the explosion gradually fade away, revealing an arch that was now lacking in big, heavy doors.

His gaze was drawn to two sets of large ears, a long set and a pointy set, bouncing around as they moved through the cleared archway.

"Nice work, Kid!" Finnick laughed, "It ain't a real treasure hunt until we've gotten to blow some shit up!"

"Still seems pretty excessive," Judy mumbled under her breath, her ears drooping a bit with uncertainty.

Nick waved his paw dismissively in her direction, "You worry too much, Carrots, it was just a half-rotten set of doors and a bit of stone, the temple itself wasn't even touched."

"I dunno..." Judy's mood improved a bit, but she still didn't sound fully convinced.

Nick nodded to the structure behind them. "That's where our big find is gonna be, and once we have it, you'll be able to say you helped rewrite history!" He leaned forward and gave her an encouraging smile, "Sounds pretty good, no?"

That comment seemed to greatly improve her mood as she lifted her head and nodded vigorously, "Yeah! You're right! Uncovering long lost knowledge and helping to improve mammalkind's understanding of its own history? That's why I do this!" She jumped excitedly, pumping her fist into the air, "Come on, let's go!" The excited doe started running towards the temple only to stop and make an about-face. "Ooh, but first..." she gripped her camera in her paws, "Almost forgot to get a quick picture of the three of us celebrating our big find."

Before either of the foxes had a chance to say anything, Judy had already pulled them in and wrapped an arm around each of their necks. The camera was being held in an outstretched paw as she flipped it around to face them. On the side panel, it showed all three of them with Nick sporting a stunned look, Judy, an excited one, and Finnick, a scowl.

"Everybody smile and say cheese!"

Nick put on a cocky smirk but the annoyed scowl remained stuck on Finnick's muzzle. Noticing this, Nick nudged his head in the older fox's direction, "You heard the bunny, Gramps!"

"Come on, Kid, seriously?" Finnick objected.

"_C'mon_, say cheese!" the red fox insisted in a mocking tone.

The desert fox let out a frustrated sigh before finally capitulating. "Cheese..." he droned out half-heartedly, the irritated look still on his face even as the picture was taken.

Nick took a look at the captured image, chuckling at how the picture had managed to perfectly capture his partner's irritation which contrasted so nicely with Judy's energetic smile and his own cocky grin. "Quite the glamour shot, Fluff."

"Oh, this one's definitely a keeper!" Judy enthused as she took the camera in both paws and looked over the image.

"Yeah, yeah, if you two are done wasting time," Finnick growled. "I'd really like to get back to the whole treasure hunting thing."

Nick hadn't been paying attention earlier, being too focused on getting the door open, but it was only now that he and the others noticed just how many of those barrels were scattered throughout the temple grounds.

"That's a lot of gunpowder…" Judy noted in astonishment.

"No kidding." Finnick's ears twitched in thought. "Were they planning to blow the place sky high or something?"

"Maybe," Nick pondered, "Wilde might've not wanted to leave anything behind for others to find..."

"What, like a rival group or something?" Finnick speculated, trying to make sense of the situation.

"You don't get an empire as large as the one the Pine Isles had without making your fair share of enemies along the way," Nick pointed out. "Maybe some of them were even looking for the same thing as Sir Francis."

"If his plan was to keep others from finding this place, then why didn't they go through with it?" Judy wondered.

"And why leave all of the gunpowder behind?" Nick added. "If there was a change of plan, you'd figure they'd take it with them."

"Maybe a rival group took them out?" the reporter suggested. "Everybody already thought he had just retired and went into solitude at this point, so the expedition was clearly a secret. If something went wrong and the empire decided to bury the truth, it might explain why nobody ever heard about it."

Nick shook his head at the idea. "I doubt it, if the expedition was destroyed, there'd have been shipwrecks out in the bay, but we didn't see anything."

"Well, either way, we ain't gonna figure it out by just standing around all day with our tails hanging in the wind." Finnick started making his way toward the temple entrance while the other two followed behind him.

As they approached the temple, they saw that the stairs leading up to the main entrance had collapsed, leaving the entrance out of their reach.

Judy perused the temple with her camera before turning to look at Nick. "Think you can find a way to climb up that?"

"Stonework is a lot smoother here than the wall, don't really have anything solid enough to grab on to." As Nick eyed the wall, he noticed a sizeable chunk of stone that had fallen loose from the temple exterior and was sitting on the ledge above them. "Not that we need any, I have a better idea."

"And what would that be?" Judy asked as Nick stepped up to the collapsed stairs and looked back at her.

"See that loose stone up there?" Judy looked up at the stone he was pointing to. "It should be big enough for me to use as a step to climb up to the second level."

Judy tilted her head in confusion, "But we can't reach it."

Nick sighed, "Well duh, I'm gonna boost you up to the ledge and then you can push it down to me."

"Are you serious?" Judy asked in disbelief, "That thing looks pretty heavy, how exactly do you expect me to get it down?"

"Don't be so dramatic, it's not as heavy as it looks…probably..." When that failed to convince the bunny, a smug look crept onto his face as he decided to try a different approach. "Or is that too much for a _cute_ little bunny to handle?" A pretty risky move usually since bunnies really hated being called that. In this line of work, it wasn't uncommon for use of that word to result in somebody being shot, stabbed, or at the very least having a chair smashed over their head.

It still managed to do the trick though, the rabbit's nose started twitching in agitation as she shot the treasure hunter a dark glare. "I'll show you who's _cute_," she muttered as she marched up to Nick.

"That's more like it!" Nick bent his knees and cupped his paws together, silently hoping this wouldn't end with him getting kicked in the face again, it hurt enough the first time around and that was before he'd actually done anything to deserve it. Judy took a running start and stepped into his cupped paws, leaping forward as Nick thrust her upwards. Thankfully, the rabbit didn't kick him in the face as she was launched high into the air and landed on the ledge above.

"Nice jump, Carrots! Oh, and thanks for not kicking me in the face again."

"Already kicked you once, just try not to tempt me," Judy cautioned before disappearing out of sight. A few seconds later, Nick started to hear the sounds of grunting and stone scraping against stone.

The fox stepped back as he saw the stone moving and a pair of black tipped ears poking out from behind it.

"Look…out…below," Judy grunted between shoves with the last one causing the stone block to slide off the edge and land on the ground.

"Nice work," Nick climbed up on top of the stone block and pulled himself over the ledge. "Alright Gramps, your turn."

"Way ahead of you, Kid," Finnick was already pulling himself on top of the stone as Nick bent over and reached for him. The small fox leaped up and his paw was engulfed by the red foxes larger one as he was pulled up on to the ledge.

Judy pumped her closed paw in triumph, "We made it!"

"Yes, we certainly have," Nick looked to Judy on his left and Finnick on his right. "You guys ready?"

"I sure am," the bunny nodded.

"About damn time," the smaller fox grumbled.

Nick cocked a smile and flicked his tail in anticipation, "Well then, I think it's about time we finally got to see what it is our old buddy Francis found out here."

With that, the adventurers pressed forward into the darkness of the temple interior.


	3. Dust and Bones

_Author Note: Another week, another round of fumbling around with the posting system . (it's the rating system this time). But hey, got another chapter to post, so go ahead and check it out!_

* * *

"Sweet biscuits it's dark, I can't see a thing in here."

"I don't know what you're talking about Fluff, I can see just fine." Nick wasn't looking, but he could imagine Judy's nose twitching in agitation.

"Well_ some_ of us don't have night vision."

"Enough messing around, Nick, just give her a damn flashlight already so we can get on with this," Finnick growled.

"Fiiiine," Nick sighed in jest before pulling out two flashlights, flicking one on and passing the other to Judy. Even with the flashlights now illuminating the area, all it managed to do was further highlight the decrepitude of the old ruins. The lingering musty scent and the dust covering almost every inch of the halls made it obvious that they were the first mammals to enter in a very long time.

"Either of you see anything?" Nick asked as they continued further into the ruins.

"Just more barrels of gunpowder," Finnick grumbled, sweeping his own flashlight across a number of barrels stacked against the walls. "I'm starting to think that's all this damn place has."

"Well, let's just keep looking," Nick offered. "Still a lot of temple left to explore."

Finnick simply grunted non-committally.

"Tell you what, Gramps. If we don't find anything, I'll let you vent your frustration by blowing up the temple, deal?"

"I'm seriously starting to consider blowing this damn thing up with you in it, Kid..."

"Oh I know you'd never do that, Gramps, you'd miss me."

"Like I'd miss a godsdamn hangover..."

"Guys, save it for later!" Judy called out, Nick and Finnick only now realizing she had wandered on ahead. "I think you're gonna want to come take a look at this!"

As the two foxes approached, they saw the rabbit's gaze and flashlight were focused on something lying on the ground. On closer inspection, it was revealed to be the skeletal remains of a mammal. Given the size and canid nature of the skeleton, Nick guessed it had either been a fox or a small wolf.

"Hmm, maybe this guy can tell us where the treasure is, eh Gramps?" Nick joked, nudging the small fox.

"Who do you think it was?" Judy pondered.

"One of the locals maybe?" Finnick speculated, the new lead seeming to have improved his mood slightly.

"Not unless the locals had access to steel armour and rapiers," Nick noted, pointing out the armour the mammal was wearing and the weapon still grasped in its skeletal paw.

He bent down to take a closer look, noting the symbol of a lion and a dragon on the armour. "Hmmm, that's the symbol of House Leodor…"

He looked over the sword and armour, trying to discern any useful details. They were both pretty old, decayed and covered in dust, but they were still intact enough for him to determine their approximate age. "Look to be...16th century…" he continued, piecing together a conclusion. "Looks like this poor bastard was one of the soldiers from Wilde's expedition."

"What happened to him?" Judy asked, a hint of shock in her voice.

"I have no idea, but I doubt he just keeled over from a heart attack," Finnick remarked.

The rabbit bent down further and placed her paws on the dead mammal's side, "It looks like he was...fighting," she turned the body over, exposing a dent in the armour on the back with something sticking out of it. Pulling it out, she found a small notched stick with a metal tip.

Nick took bent down next to Judy to take a look at it, "Hmm, steel tip…doesn't look like a type of arrow the natives around here would've used."

"It looks like a crossbow bolt," the doe started to realize, "but that would mean..."

"That Sir Francis' expedition wasn't the only group out here," Nick finished. "Looks like Wilde had some competition, and I'm betting we'll find more answers up ahead."

As they continued down the halls, they came to a much larger open room with a pedestal in the center that was surrounded by skeletal remains. These all wore steel armour and the positioning of their remains suggested that they had died fighting as well.

"Holy shit…" Finnick murmured.

"Wow…" Judy gasped in shocked awe.

"Must've been a pretty nasty fight," Nick looked the skeletons over. Some of them wore similar gear to the soldier they had found earlier, but others wore a distinctly different set.

"I'd venture a guess that these were our mystery rivals," Nick bent down next to the skeletal remains of one of the mystery mammals, a bovine soldier with a hefty looking axe clutched in his hoof and a sword sticking out of what used to be his chest. "Now who are you guys?"

While the chest armour he wore was too badly damaged to identify the crest adorning it, the same could not be said for the soldier's helmet. Picking it up, he saw a crest consisting of pair of horns jutting out of a crown with a sword in the background pointing downwards. "Judging from this crest and all the carnage, I'd wager that Wilde and his pals ran afoul of the Blackhorn Empire."

"So…what, Sir Francis comes looking for treasure, only to get jumped by the Blackhorns who take it for themselves?" Finnick asked, pulling the helmet out of Nick's paws to get a better look.

Nick stroked his muzzle, deep in thought. Finnick's theory seemed like a reasonable one, but something about it didn't sit right with the red fox.

"I don't think so…" he finally said, "the Blackhorns probably would've torched all of Wilde's ships if they caught them, but we didn't see any shipwrecks out in the bay." He tilted his head in concentration for another moment before nodding as he drew a conclusion. "I think it's more likely that Wilde's expedition bolted during the fight and the Blackhorns looted the place afterwards."

"So the trails gone cold...son of a bitch..." Finnick growled in frustration as he threw the helmet across the room, a loud clanging resounding through the halls as it bounced off the stone floor.

"Woah, easy there Gramps," Nick raised his paws in alarm. "We're not done here yet, there still might be something of value."

"Like what, Kid?!", Finnick yelled in frustration. "They picked the place clean, there's nothing left but a buncha' dust and bones. How the hell are we supposed to make a payday off of that?"

"Come on, Finn, we'll make this work," Nick tried to assure his partner. "We always do."

"Right," Finnick rolled his eyes, "like that time we went looking for that idol in Angka Binrei?"

"We found the idol, didn't we?" Nick countered.

"Yeah, and then you got arrested right after," Finnick reminded him, "I had to waste all our money bribing the warden to let your sorry tail go."

"Well...yeah…" Nick cringed, he'd forgotten about that part. "But how was I supposed to know that guy who's boat we crashed had that much pull with the cops?"

"You mean the one _you _crashed?"

Realizing this argument wasn't going anywhere, Nick tried a different approach. "Look, I get it, things have been rough, but I know when a job has potential, just trust me on this Gramps. I've got a good feeling about this one."

Nick could see the gears grinding in the smaller fox's head. He couldn't blame his partner for having doubts, money had been pretty tight and the last few jobs of theirs hadn't exactly panned out well. Still, for all his complaining and grumbling, Finnick was always one to trust him when it counted. The treasure hunter never liked having to play the trust card against his partner, but he really did have a good feeling about this job, and backing out at this point wasn't exactly an option given the things he had to do just to find this place.

The small fox finally let out a frustrated sigh, "Alright, fine Kid, we'll do it your way."

Nick fought the urge to let out a sigh of relief as Finnick continued, "but what the hell do we do now? Cause I sure as shit don't see any other way outta this room."

Before Nick had a chance to answer, he heard a clicking noise coming from behind him. Both the foxes turned to see Judy standing on top of a pedestal that the skeletal remains of a wolf had been leaning against, her foot pressed down on a button they had missed.

The click was followed by the sound of ancient gears turning behind the walls and the sound of moving stone as a section of the wall at the back of the room rose up, revealing a hidden passageway.

"Uhhh..." Nick blinked in disbelief, "I guess we can just wait for Carrots to sort it out..."

"Whatever works I guess," Finnick grinned triumphantly, his frustrations seemingly having melted away. He nodded at Judy as he passed her and entered the new opening, "Nice work bunny, you know you might just end up being better at this sort of thing than him."

Nick stepped over to the pedestal, his gaze locked on Judy and the pedestal. "How did you know to do that?"

Judy leapt down to the ground, "His paw was lying on top of it," she pointed to the skeletal remains of the wolf lying against the pedestal. "It looked like he was trying to activate something and then I saw that button so I just...pushed it."

"No kidding…" Nick looked at the inconspicuous button before glancing back at Judy. "Good eye, Carrots, we might just make a treasure hunter out of you yet."

Judy smiled at the compliment, a very slight blush appearing under her fur. "Thanks, but I think I'll stick with reporting once we're finished here."

Nick shrugged, "Your loss, Fluff."

"Hey, Kid!" Finnick's gruff voice called out from the new opening. "I think you'll want to come see this."

As Nick and Judy followed Finnick's voice through the new passage, they were greeted by the sight of a hallway much larger than the previous one. Extinguished torches lined the hall on either side with strange murals carved into the stone above them.

Unlike everything else they had seen, these murals were in surprisingly good condition. One set depicted a massive city with stone spires that reached far into the clouds above, dwarfing the smaller buildings and houses beneath them. Another set of murals depicted the city from further away, sitting on an island in the ocean with smaller islands visible in the distance and the sun setting on the horizon. A final set depicted a wide variety of mammals of differing sizes and families, both prey and predator, living together in peaceful harmony within the city limits.

Judy gazed in awe at the murals, "These looking incredible…and so well preserved." She approached one of them, filming it with her camera, "Nothing else we've seen so far has been this intact." She turned to look back at Nick and Finnick, "This really is quite a find!"

Finnick eyed the murals, his large ears twitching as he considered their worth, "A shame they're built into the walls, I bet they'd be worth a fortune if we could take them with us."

"They look like they depict some kind of city," Judy observed, looking over at Nick. "Maybe this temple was part of it?"

"I don't think so," Nick pointed to the set of murals showing the island chain, "the city looks like it's on an island, and any near this coast would be too small to fit a city of that size. If this temple was ever part of any city, it would've been something further inland."

He looked between the different murals furrowing his brow in concentration, "And these mammals, a lot of them aren't even native to the region. Whatever this mural is depicting, it's not anything nearby."

"Then what is it?" Judy wondered. "I doubt they'd be hiding these murals behind a hidden passage unless there was a point to them."

"I'm not sure…" Nick paused, "a city somewhere else...maybe?" One particular city popped up in Nick's mind but he was quick to quash that thought.

_Forget it Wilde, that city is just a myth_, the fox reasoned._ No good's gonna come from chasing old legends, even if it would be the find of the century..._

"Well we're not gonna find any answers by just staring at the wall all day with our tails hanging in the breeze," Finnick cut in, putting an end to Nick's internal debate. The desert fox began walking further down the hall, "Come on, let's see what else there is." He beckoned to the others. "Maybe we'll actually find something that'll make all that damn bushwacking worth it in the end."

As they headed deeper into the temple, they saw the occasional dead soldier, but nothing on the level of the massacre in the pedestal room. Finally, they came to a wall with a mural on the front and two sets of chains with attached stone weights on each side. The mural was a detailed depiction of the same white flower they had been seeing outside of the temple.

_There it is again, what is it with these guys and that flower?_ Nick wondered. _Is it some sort of symbol? A local plant maybe?_

He glanced over at Judy only to find her focused on filming the mural. "Carrots, you there?" he nudged her to get her attention.

"Hmm?" the rabbit murmured, still remaining focused on the mural.

"You're just staring at the wall," the fox explained. "What, you like the design or something?"

"Oh no, was just thinking that something seemed familiar about it." Judy shook her head and lowered the camera before looking back at Nick, "Doesn't matter, anyways, you have any idea what to do next?"

"Yeah," Nick approached the mural and brushed his paw over the stone, "this wall looks like it can move, I think it might be a door of some kind." He pointed to the sets of chains on each side, "lifting these counterweights will probably do the trick. I'll take the left side, you and Finn grab the right."

"Alright," Judy affirmed.

"On it," Finnick added, both of them grabbing the chain on the right side.

Nick grabbed his chain and started pulling while Judy and Finnick followed suit on their side. Despite being designed to be operated by larger mammals, the three of them still managed to get the chains moving after some initial resistance. The clanking of metal and the grinding of stone echoed through the halls as the counterweights moved and the stone wall rose up to reveal another opening.

Nick was about to release the chain when he realized they had a problem. "Crap! Door's open but it's gonna just fall again as soon as we let go of the counterweights."

"We'll hold the door, Kid," Finnick grunted, "see if you can find something to jam it with."

"You guys sure?" It was hard enough holding the chain by himself, it was probably even worse for the other two.

"Just…hurry," Judy urged as she struggled against the chain.

"Alright," Nick quickly ducked under the door, looking around for anything he could jam it open with. He soon noticed an old chunk of stone close to the door that could work.

_Maybe it was part of a statue at some point? Or possibly came loose from the wall? Whatever,_ _doesn't matter, it's about to find new purpose as a door stopper._

"Any...day now...Kid…" Finnick forced out in a strained voice.

Nick quickly pushed the stone until it was right under the door.

"Alright, that should do it, let it go guys."

Finnick and Judy both released the chain and the door slammed down hard on the stone with a loud crash. Several cracks formed from the impact but the stone remained intact.

"Should be good, come on Carrots, you first," Nick called as he waved her over.

"Is that safe?" Judy asked uncertainly.

"As safe as anything else around here," Nick replied.

"That would be a no then…"

Despite her unease, Judy quickly ran under the door. As she did, a groaning sound could be heard as more cracks formed on the stone and it started to give under the weight of the door. Just as she cleared the door, the stone shattered, shards of rock flying in all directions as the door slammed down with a crashing thud and sealed them in.

"Whoa!" Nick jumped back in alarm. "That was a close one. You alright, Carrots?"

The rabbit looked a little rattled but otherwise unharmed. "I...I'm alright," she said in a slightly shaken voice. She shook her head, starting to appear calmer and gave a nervous chuckle. "So...this sort of thing normal for treasure hunters? Almost getting crushed into paste like that?" a relieved smile forming on her face as she brushed bits of rock off of herself.

The fox's muzzle broke into a small grin at the joke. "Not always, Fluff," he teased, "sometimes it actually gets dangerous."

"You two alright in there?" Finnick's muffled voice yelled through the door.

"We're fine, Gramps," Nick yelled back, "but I don't see any way to open the door from this side."

"Well, there's no way I'll be able to get it open on this side by myself," Finnick confirmed. "What the hell do we do now?"

"You wait here," Nick suggested. "Carrots and I will go on ahead and see if we can find anything."

"Be careful, Kid," Finnick's muffled voice cautioned. "And keep an eye out for our treasure, don't forget why we're here just 'cause the door's busted."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Gramps," Nick smirked. "So what are you gonna do all by your lonesome?"

"Oh you know me," Finnick answered, "I got all the company I need."

"Let me guess, gonna smoke another cigar while we do all the work?" Nick rolled his eyes at Judy as he said it, knowing full well what the answer would be.

"What do you mean gonna?" Finnick shot back. "I already lit one up while we were talking."

Nick looked at Judy and saw she was trying to stifle a giggle. He simply shrugged, "Just watch yourself around the gunpowder. I'd hate to come back only to find you've gone and blown yourself up."

"Ha! I wouldn't give you the satisfaction!" Finnick countered.

"Have fun, Gramps!" Nick casually waved towards the door, knowing Finnick would respond with his own unseen wave.

He started walking down the hall again, Judy following close behind. Glancing out the corner of his eye, he saw that the rabbit was eyeing him in a thoughtful manner.

"You two seem pretty close," she finally said.

"Oh ya, Gramps and I go way back," Nick nodded. "Probably wouldn't be a treasure hunter if it weren't for him, he taught me most of what I know. Not as big on the history part of treasure hunting though. For him, it's more about how valuable the finds are."

"So, he's only in this for the money then?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that...but suffice to say, he's more interested in how much a find's worth than its impact on history ."

"I see..." Judy said, the tone in her voice making it clear she wanted to know more.

"Anyways..." Nick said after a pause, deciding to bury the topic. "Let's see what was so important that they felt the need to hide it behind a bunch of secret doors."

The two of them continued down the darkened hallway, heading deeper into the temple. They soon found themselves in the largest chamber so far. A circular room with an opening in the center that allowed sunlight to shine through.

"Do you think we can use that opening in the roof to climb out?" Judy asked.

"Don't think so," Nick answered, looking at the wall leading up to the exit. "Too high up and no good pawholds to grab on to. Besides, we're looking for the secrets hidden in this temple, right? Makes trying to climb out kinda counter-productive."

"Okay fine, first we find whatever they hid in here, _then_ we try to find a way out.

They looked around the room and noticed a circular door on the opposite side of the chamber. They also saw a series of eight statues, all of them resembled primal mammals standing on all fours. The statues were arranged in a circular pattern around the room and consisted of a fox, a zebra, a wolf, a weasel, a lion, a mouse, a rabbit, and a sheep in clockwise order.

Nick let out an impressed whistle, "Nice statues, these guys must've really loved their stonework."

He started stroking the ring around his neck as he focused on the statues, "More mammals that aren't native to the region, I'm starting to think whoever made this temple wasn't from around here..."

"What do you think they were for?" Judy asked as she went from statue to statue, filming each of them with her camera.

Nick glanced at the circular door and then back to the statues, trying to figure out if there was a connection.

"It's a test," he concluded.

"A test?"

"Yup, prove your worth to get the treasure, pretty common shtick in the business." Nick walked up to the statue of the fox and knocked on it with his paw. "It usually boils down to solving an ancient puzzle of some kind."

"Wait, you're saying ancient mammals would just hide all their treasures and secrets behind elaborate puzzle devices?" Judy asked in disbelief.

"Quite frequently, Carrots, puzzle mechanism design was a pretty lucrative industry in ancient times." Nick looked at the statues and noticed that all of them had handles sticking out. He started pushing on it and found that they made the statues rotate. "Well, these statues can move, I'm guessing we need to make each of them face a certain direction."

"But which way do they go? I count eight statues, Nick, that's a lot of possibilities..."

She was right, there were way too many possible combinations for them to just guess. As Nick started stroking his ring again, he couldn't shake a thought from his head that had gradually taken root since they first set foot in the chamber.

"These statues look familiar…"

Judy turned to him, a curious look in her eye. "You've seen these before?"

"Maybe, let me see if Sir Francis made some notes about them." Nick grabbed the old journal from his pack and flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for. "Here we go, eight mammals, same species as the statues here. Wilde must've figured out what to do with them."

"Does it tell us how to use them?" Judy was looking closely at the fox statue, poking and prodding as if it would provoke some sort of reaction.

"Not directly, no."

The journal had drawings of the same eight mammals displayed on the statues, but what really stood out for Nick was a written note in the corner.

"From conflict, comes balance. From nature, comes order."

"Sounds like a riddle," Judy began tapping her foot as she mulled over the phrase. "Does it have something to do with the statues?"

"Probably," Nick observed, looking back up at the statues again. "Wilde wouldn't just write the answer for any idiot to find, but he _would_ write down something that only he or somebody smart enough would be able to figure out.

Nick looked back down at the journal, "Now we just need just need to figure out what that phrase has to do with those statues..."

He motioned Judy over and the two proceeded to pore over every detail in the room and Wilde's journal in search of anything that could help them figure out the answer to the puzzle.

"Balance from conflict…order from nature," Nick slowly repeated, rolling his tongue over every word as he spoke. "What does it mean?"

"Predation?"

Nick's ears flicked in surprise at the sudden suggestion, "Excuse me?"

"Predator and prey, it's one of the oldest conflicts in history, and many theorists believe predators acted as a form of population control for prey during the savage and primal ages." Judy proposed. "Maybe it has something to do with that?"

Nick looked at the pictures in the journal again, "Four predators...four prey…" he mouthed the riddle a second time as he contemplated the rabbit's suggestion. "Maybe we have to make the prey and predator statues face each other?"

"Hey, there's an idea! Let's try different combinations and see if that does something!" Judy excitedly suggested. Eager to test out the theory, she ran to the closest statue.

Nick raised his paw to stop the bunny, "Whoa! Easy there Carrots, that's just a guess. We're gonna want to be a _bit_ more certain than that before we start messing around with centuries-old statues."

"It's just an old puzzle mechanism," Judy justified. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Well if we're lucky, nothing."

The rabbit froze at that answer, "What does _that _mean?"

"I mean these things usually treat those that get the wrong answer as intruders, so if we screw it up, there might be some sort of response," Nick said. "Or if we're lucky, it doesn't do anything and we just look like idiots."

"And if we're less lucky than that?" Judy asked, caution lacing her voice.

"Booby traps," Nick stated.

"Booby traps?"

"Yup, collapsing ceilings and floors, flying darts, spikes, giant boulders, hell, I even heard about some rhino triggering one that sprayed acid once, idiot thought he could just smash through the wall and grab the treasure on the other side." He then tapped a claw against the journal in his paws, making sure he had the rabbit's attention as he did.

"So yeah, we're gonna want to be certain we've got this right before we start messing around with those statues."

"Point taken," Judy gulped. "Maybe we should take a look at those notes again…" she motioned for Nick to lower the journal down to her eye level.

After some more time was spent poring over the notes, Nick began to notice an interesting detail in the illustrations.

"Hey Carrots, do you see anything in particular that stands out about these drawings?"

Judy took the journal in her paw and looked at them, "Other than what we already talked about? No, nothing."

"No?" Nick paused in thought before speaking up. "You've got family, right?"

A confused look crossed the rabbit's face, "Uhh...yeah?" She hesitantly responded, caught off guard by the question.

"Farmgirl, right? Guessing your family is pretty large?"

"How did you-"

"I'd say lucky guess, but really, it's a pretty common background for bunnies in this line of work. You know, that one kit desperate to escape the dull farmer's life, goes off in search of adventure. That sounding about right, Fluff?"

"Not exactly..." Judy mumbled quietly. "And my family's not _that_ big, only 275 siblings." There was an awkward silence as the fox simply stared at her in amusement, "So...uhh...what's your point?"

"I'm guessing a lot of them are a lot less forward thinking than you," Nick continued. "Did any of them tell you to stay away from a certain type of mammal, like, say, oh I don't know, a fox?"

Judy looked even more confused now and slightly alarmed, "What are you getting at?"

"Easy, Fluff, I'm a treasure hunter. I don't care about any prejudices you and your family may or may not have," Nick placated.

"Frankly, specism is kinda pointless in this line of work anyways, given the disproportionally large amount of shady characters in treasure hunting, just about any mammal can be as shady and untrustworthy as a 'fox'," he continued. "I promise this question is relevant to what we're doing here, I wouldn't be asking otherwise. "

Judy huffed in frustration, "Okay, fine! Yes, some of them told me to stay away from foxes."

"And why do you suppose that is?" Nick quizzed.

"My family isn't exactly the best at letting go of old rivalries and suspicions, especially where foxes are concerned given how they're..." Judy's ears stiffened and her eyes opened wide at the sudden realization of where Nick had been going with this line of questioning, "...natural enemies!"

Nick clapped his paws together, "Exactly! Foxes and rabbits are natural enemies."

He then held the journal towards Judy, pointing a clawed digit at the drawings. "Take another look at the fox and rabbit, what are they doing?"

Judy furrowed her brow as she looked at the drawings. Her ears managed to somehow stiffen even more once she realized what Nick was hinting at, "They're staring at each other!"

"Bingo!" Nick exclaimed. "And check the others out, the sheep and wolf, the lion and zebra, the weasel and the mouse, each of those pairs are staring at each other."

"That's what the riddle meant," Judy pieced together, "the conflict leading to balance and nature leading to order, it was talking about the conflict between natural enemies!"

Nick nodded at the rabbit before pointing to the circle of statues. "We point each of the statues at their respective natural enemy, and I bet that'll open the way to whatever this temple's hiding." Nick approached the fox statue and beckoned the rabbit over, "Come on, help me push this."

"Wait!" Judy grabbed Nick's arm before he could start. "Are we sure we got this right? I don't want to end up getting impaled on a bunch of spikes or sprayed with acid or something because we got caught up on the wrong clue."

"Nothing is certain in treasure hunting, Fluff," Nick placed his paw on Judy's shoulder and gave her a confident smirk, "but then that's part of the fun. Besides, not like we have any better ideas."

Judy pondered for a second before nodding at Nick, "Alright, let's do it!"

"And here we go!" The two proceeded to move each of the statues into their proper position. Once they finished, they found themselves standing in the center of the circle, waiting in anticipation.

"Did that do it?" Judy asked, her foot tapping nervously.

"Guess we're about to find out," Nick answered, trying not to imagine spikes coming out of the floor and impaling both him and the rabbit. Images of future explorers finding their remains conjured in his mind, putting them on display in a museum as the dumb bunny and even dumber fox who couldn't solve a simple riddle. It wasn't exactly the kind of legacy he'd like to leave behind, if possible.

Soon they started to hear the sound of something clicking into place followed by the rumbling of what was probably ancient stone gears. The grinding suddenly became much louder as the circular door at the back of the room slowly started to roll out of the way.

"It's working!" Judy rejoiced.

"Yup, looks like we did it," Nick agreed.

As soon as he said that the stone door stopped moving, stuck in place.

"...Or not…"

Whatever mechanism was responsible for opening the door seemed to have jammed, leaving only a small opening.

"No way! I'm too keyed up now to let some busted door stop me." Nick, got down on all fours and started to squeeze his way through the gap between the door and the wall. It was a tight fit but he was able to gradually force his way through.

"Almost...there," Nick grunted as he pulled himself through the opening, bit by bit. He was up to his waist when he ran into a problem.

"Uh oh..."

"What's wrong?"

Nick didn't want to admit it, if he was by himself, this could have been deadly. With the bunny here though, it was even worse, it was embarrassing.

"I'm stuck…"

"Oh really?" he could hear the smugness in the rabbit's voice and he hated it. "Do you need some help?"

"Nah, I totally got it!" Nick tried to answer cooly, straining to wedge himself free as he spoke. "Just...need...a minute." There was no way the rabbit wasn't aware of how embarrassed he was, red fur or not.

_If a spike trap came through the floor and impaled me right now, I think I'd be okay with that... _

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I mean you _are _a professional treasure hunter who probably doesn't need help, but if you're stuck…"

"It's alright, I'm fine, really," Nick said in a tone that despite his best efforts, made it abundantly clear that no, in fact, he wasn't fine. "Although, if you could just...push on the door a bit," he tried to suggest nonchalantly, "that might...you know...help a bit...if you want..."

After a brief pause, he heard the bunny's exertions as she started pushing against the door. It didn't move much, but it was enough to give him that extra bit of space to free himself and crawl through to the other side.

Judy followed behind him right afterwards, squeezing through the gap with far less trouble. "Glad to be out of that _tight_ situation, eh Nick?" she smirked.

"Ha ha...that's funny..." Nick deadpanned, before turning around and walking down the hallway. He beckoned her to follow with a flippant wave of his paw, "This way Lisa Lambanelli."

Judy coughed awkwardly before jogging to catch up with Nick. "So...any idea what this place is?"

"No clue," Nick answered, relieved the bunny had been merciful enough to steer the topic away from his moment of shame, "but if mammals were willing to put it behind a bunch of puzzles and secret doors, then it's gotta be something important ."

As they entered a small room at the end of the hall, they heard the sound of grinding stone as the floor split open in front of them and a circular pedestal rose up from the gap. There were many images carved into the surface of the pedestal, the most immediately apparent being a map in the center surrounded by a border consisting of the same flower carvings that they had been seeing throughout the ruins.

Judy was staring at the flower carvings, stroking her chin in thought, "You know...I think I've seen these somewhere befo-" she was interrupted by Nick as he gently placed a paw on her shoulder and moved her aside.

"You mind holding that thought for a second, Fluff?" he took a closer look at the map on the pedestal. It depicted a chain of islands in the middle of the ocean with a city depicted on the largest one. "Looks like the location of some sort of city."

"Probably the same one from that mural earlier." Judy pointed to a series of strange symbols at the bottom of the map. "What about these?"

"I'm not sure...some sort of coordinates, maybe?"

"Think you can decipher them?"

"Without knowing the language? Sorry, Carrots, no can do." He then noticed some faded markings right next to the symbols. "Although...I think dear old Sir Francis may have gone ahead and done that for us."

"What do you mean?"

"This," he pointed out the markings on the stone map. "It's not part of the carvings, looks like it was added on afterwards."

Judy's ears shot up in excitement as she focused on the markings with her camera. After looking at it briefly, her ears sunk back down a bit, "I can't make out what those markings say, they're too faded. It looks like somebody tried to rub them off."

"That would probably have been Wilde, guessing he had enough time to cover his tracks a bit, hoping his new Blackhorn friends would miss what he wrote," Nick speculated. "Luckily, I have a way to fix that." He pulled out a sheet of paper and a pencil, placing the paper on top of the markings.

He saw Judy looking at him in confusion and shot her a cocky smirk in response. "Old treasure hunting trick, should be able to show us whatever was written there. As you said, I am a professional treasure hunter, after all." He rubbed the pencil against the paper, the raised surface of the markings causing a message to form on the paper. "And voila!"

On the paper was a series of latitude and longitude bearings, _33° S and 60° E._

Judy bounced in excitement at what she saw. "They _were_ coordinates. Nice job, Nick!"

"All in a day's work, Fluff."

He proceeded to write the coordinates down in his journal as well as a rough drawing of the island chain on the map with the city's location circled.

"Not the most precise coordinates, probably was the best guess Wilde could come up with given he had to translate them, but it should be good enough to find those islands."

He pulled out a map of his own, marking the indicated area. "There! Whatever he was looking for, I bet that's where we'll find it," Nick tapped the point on the map with his marker. "And I'm willing to bet we'll find the islands and that city out there."

Judy leaned over to look at the map, "Those islands would be in the middle of the Dakashi Ocean, why would some temple on the mainland lead us all the way out there?"

"I'm not sure...wait a minute," Nick noticed another marking on the map. "There's more to this message," he took a second rubbing, making sure he caught the rest of his ancestors markings. The new rubbing only contained a single word, one that made his jaw drop in disbelief: _Henosia_.

Judy noticed the shocked look on the fox's muzzle, "Henosia? Does that mean something to you?"

"Henosia…it's real…" Nick muttered. "Holy crap…"

"Hello, Earth to Nick?" Judy poked the treasure hunter, snapping him out of his shocked state.

"Uhh...nothing," Nick shook his head, "Well not_ nothing_, definitely something, but I'll tell you later." He turned around and started heading to the exit, leaving behind a very surprised Judy who had to hurry to catch up. "For now, we need to find a way out of here. It might take a while to explain, just know that we're onto something big."

"Big?" she asked in confusion.

"Really big."

"How _big_ exactly?"

"Forget find of the decade Fluff, if this is real, we'll have made the find of the damn century!" Nick couldn't contain his excitement, his tail twitching back and forth as they walked.

"Really?" Judy excitedly asked, having caught up beside Nick.

"I told you you'd have your big find." Nick turned to Judy and gave her a completely genuine smile. For the first time in what seemed like ages, he had finally gotten his break, all of his hard work was about to pay off. "Now let's go find Gramps and figure out how to get out of here."

As they headed back to the circular door, they began to hear the sound of chains moving and the grinding of moving stone. Nick and Judy's ears both perked at the noise.

"The door!" Judy exclaimed.

"Gramps found a way to get it open," Nick started running towards the opening. "I knew I kept him around for a reason!"

"Hey Nick, slow down!"

"No time to slow down, Carrots, we've got history to make!" As he reached the circular door he waved back to Judy, "Come on! The sooner we get out of here, the sooner I can tell you what's up!"

He turned and began forcing his way through the gap in the circular door, not struggling with it nearly as much as he did the last time.

"Hey, Gramps, nice job getting that door open!" Nick yelled as he made his way through the gap.

"How the hell did you-"

He found himself cut off as he looked up and noticed the barrels of several assault rifles pointed right at his face. Looking past them, he saw they were being held by two springboks and a spotted hyena decked out in combat fatigues and tactical vests, all sporting very unfriendly looks on their muzzles.

"Ah crap, you're not Gramps..."

The next thing Nick knew, he felt a hoof grasp his neck and pull him to his feet.

"Thanks, but you really didn't need to-" he was cut off as he felt another hoof reach into his holster and take his weapon.

"Sure, you can borrow that I guess," he was interrupted again by the sound of an assault rifle round being chambered.

"Okay, I'll just shut up now…" he finished, raising his paws above his head.

"Ey, girl!" the hyena called out to Judy in a distinctly Southern Savanna accent. "We know you're in there, come out with your paws up before we splatter your boyfriend's brains all over the walls." Nick felt the barrel of a gun poking the back of his head to emphasize the point.

"Okay, I'm coming out! Just don't shoot!" Judy began crawling through to the other side, "I just want to clarify that he's not my boyfriend or anything, we're just working together and- Hey! Ow! Ow! Ow! Watch the ears!"

The hyena, apparently thinking she was taking too long, had decided to speed things up by pulling her out by her ears. As soon as she was clear of the gap in the door, the larger mammal dropped her on her feet.

Before Nick could say anything, one of the springboks shoved him next to Judy.

"Start walking, both of you! We're going outside!" the mammal ordered in a similar sounding accent. The rabbit and fox both obeyed and started walking towards the temple exit.

Judy glanced in Nicks direction, "Who are these guys?" she whispered, he couldn't tell if she was asking rhetorically or if she actually thought he might know.

"Not anybody I know," Nick hesitantly whispered back, "...I think…"

"You think?!" the doe whispered more loudly than she probably intended.

"I deal with a lot of unsavoury types in my line of work, Carrots, but I've never crossed paths with these guys before," Nick shrugged. "Although...they might be working for somebody I know…"

"Well, who do you think it could be?" Judy asked.

"Shut up! Both of you!" the hyena yelled, the barrels of the guns poking both of them hard in the back.

"Keep moving and stay quiet! We bliksem the next one of ya that talks!"

Nick wasn't sure what _bliksem_ meant, but he wasn't really eager to find out either. Instead, he did the smart thing and remained quiet, glancing at Judy and merely giving her a shrugging gesture.

As they reached the second door, they saw a lion wearing similar gear to the others holding one of the chains in place.

"Great, you found something!" The lion called out as he saw the group approaching, "Can I let this thing go now? My blimming arms are getting tired..."

"Stay here and keep it open," the hyena ordered. "We'll probably be coming back after we've taken these two to see the bosses."

"Ag, fine..." the lion growled in frustration. "Just be quick about it."

As they walked through the first door in the pedestal room and back to the halls leading to the entrance, Nick couldn't help but detect the oily scent of Finnick's cigar lingering in the air when they passed the barrels of gunpowder.

_Still smells pretty strong, guess that means he's somewhere close by at least._

Before he could dwell on those thoughts any further, he was momentarily blinded by a bright light as he, Judy, and their armed captors stepped out of the temple and back outdoors. As his vision cleared, he saw that there were many more mammals in the temple courtyard, almost all of them armed and wearing gear similar to the three that had just marched them outside.

After dropping down from the broken stairway onto the ground, Nick's attention was drawn to the only two mammals who stood out. The first was his partner Finnick, an irritated scowl on his muzzle as he stood in the middle of the courtyard with his paws in the air. The other one was a Zebra in mid-conversation with another hyena, the equine had a pistol strapped to a holster on his side and wore a plain dark grey t-shirt with a matching pair of jeans.

_Well, at least I can venture a guess at who hired these guys, now._

"Boss! We found these two in the temple," their hyena captor barked out. "Found them crawling out from behind some door," this caught the attention of the Zebra and the other hyena who ceased their conversation and turned to look at the new arrivals.

As the Zebra turned around Nick felt a surge of shock upon recognizing his face.

_Crap_, he thought to himself, _of course _**_he'd_**_ be the one to show up here..._

The Zebra took a few steps towards them, an amused look on his muzzle. "Well, well, well. I guess I shouldn't be surprised to find you here _Wilde_." He spoke in a smug and cocky manner, emphasizing the "Wilde" in a mocking tone. He didn't have the same Southern Savanah accent the others had, his accent sounding more like that of a fellow native of Zootopia.

The striped mammal threw his hooves out in an inviting gesture as if he wanted to embrace in a hug. "It really is great to see you though, I was worried we wouldn't get a chance to talk."

Nick rolled his eyes at the mocking gestures, "Yeah...nice to see you too, _Dante_."


	4. Tense Reunions

_Author Note: Another week, another chapter, and another step closer to having my story fully updated. Anyways, let's not mince words, hope you guys enjoy it!_

* * *

_Dante...of course...it would be just my rotten luck for him to show up..._

This was not how things were supposed to go at all. Nick wasn't sure how that damn zebra had even managed to find them, hell, until a few hours ago, Nick wasn't even sure where _he _was going to be.

He'd have to figure how that managed to happen later, assuming he even got the chance. For now, he needed to find a way to get himself and the others out of this mess. Dante wasn't the most pleasant of mammals to deal with even at the best of times, and the fact he showed up with a small army in the middle of the jungle suggested that this reunion probably wasn't going to be a pleasant one.

"You know...it's strange running into you out here," the zebra began. "Your partner said he came here alone," he nodded his head in Finnick's direction. "Isn't that right, Finn?"

"Must've slipped my mind," the desert fox shrugged, a bored look on his muzzle. "I'm old, what do you want from me?"

Nick had to give the little guy some credit, even when being held at gunpoint and surrounded by hostile mammals, Finn still managed to always come off as looking like he just didn't care.

Dante glanced expectantly at the mercenaries standing behind Nick and Judy, motioning for them to speak up.

"We found them crawling out from some gap in one of the chambers," Nick heard the hyena behind him explain. "Looked like a busted door, too small for us to get through."

Dante nodded and glanced back down at the fox. "So Nick, you gonna tell me what you found in there? I know how much you _love_ boasting about your grand exploits, so why don't you go ahead and share your most recent one with me?"

There was an edge in zebra's tone despite his seemingly casual demeanour, that and the hardness in the mammal's eyes told Nick that the smart move would've been to not joke around and just give him what he wanted.

Nick had never really been that big of a fan of the smart move.

"Oh Dante, you know how it is," he responded sarcastically, making it abundantly clear how uncooperative he was feeling at the moment. "Just cruising around for some nice real estate, always tough for a hard working fox like me to find a decent place to live. You know, you should try investing out here, beautiful locale, lands cheap, and hardly any other mammals around which I know you would _love _given how well you play with others."

He jutted his thumb back at the temple entrance, "Wouldn't recommend this place though, damn thing's falling apart, bedroom door's stuck, and the old tenants still haven't moved out, not that you probably wouldn't have fun kicking them out, but still, they made quite the mess in there."

There was an awkward pause as Nick waited for Dante's inevitable response. The zebra had earned a reputation for his cruelty and ruthlessness, so there were a number of unique and terrible ways he imagined this could've gone. Instead of any of those imagined things happening though, the zebra just started chuckling instead.

_Okay...not the reaction I was expecting… _

The chuckling grew and it wasn't long before the striped equine was guffawing.

_Definitely not what I was expecting… _

"Oh mam," Dante managed to utter between fits of laughter. "I always loved that sharp wit of yours, Nick, it really cracks me right _up!" _The last word being followed by an explosion of pain as the zebra's hoof collided with his face, sending him sprawling backward onto the ground.

_There it is…THAT'S the reaction I was expecting...Oh gods that hurt… _

Nick didn't feel very dazed by the blow, but all that meant was the pain felt that much sharper, his head now throbbing with a nasty headache. Knowing Dante, he probably did that on purpose.

"It's really is a shame you never learned to use it properly," the equine rubbed the offending hoof against his side as he looked down at the fox. "With a wit like that, you could've been quite good at talking your way out of trouble, rather than further into it as you usually do."

_He's not wrong_, Nick thought to himself through the pain. _I probably would've made a damn good hustler if I had tried doing that for a living instead...probably would've also had way less mammals trying to kill me…_

He groaned.

_Ugh, and less headaches..._

"We're wasting time here, Dante," a gruff voice cut in. "We should just send my boys back in there and have 'em tear the place apart. If there's anything of use to us, they'll find it, they're thorough like that."

The voice belonged to the hyena Nick had seen Dante talking to when they first exited the temple. From what the vulpine could guess, the mammals were mercenaries of some kind and the hyena was most likely their leader. He looked more grizzled than the others and while he didn't appear to be quite Finn's age, he was definitely on the older side with some grey starting to show in his fur. He had many nicks and scars covering the exposed parts of his body, but what really stood out was a set of three long claw marks that ran down the left side of his face and over a cloudy white eye. This was a mammal who had clearly been burning the candle at both ends.

"We do this my way, Cackler," Dante responded. "I get that you're used to having more free reign in your jobs, and if I had brought you guys on to stamp out some scrappy resistance or overthrow the government of some shithole country nobody's ever heard of, then I'd let you do whatever you thought was best, that's your thing after all." His tone became harsher as he continued, "But I brought you guys in for a treasure hunting job, and that is _my _area of expertise, not yours!"

"I'm not your lackey, Dante, this is a partnership," the hyena growled, jabbing the equine's chest with a blunted claw, "and I'd check that tone of yours if you want it to last. It's easy to make a mammal disappear out here when you're the one with all the guns."

"And then you'll find yourself out of a job and unable to pay a bunch of disgruntled mercenaries," Dante countered, seemingly unaffected by the hyena's threat. "How long do you think you'll last then? I know the dire straits your crew is in..."

As the argument went on, Nick felt two sets of paws grabbing each of his arms and helping him up.

"Come on, Kid, up ya go."

Judy let out a gasp, "You're bleeding!"

"Yeah," Nick grunted, "goes with the territory."

"You gonna be okay?" Finnick asked, almost managing to hide the concern in his voice.

"I'll manage, could _really _use one of those cigars of yours right now," he looked over at the smaller fox. "Wouldn't happen to have a spare, would you, Gramps?"

"Can't help ya there, Kid. Lost my last one." Nick almost missed the wink his friend directed at him as he said it.

_So that's why those gunpowder barrels smelled so strongly of cigar smoke,_ Nick realized. _If Gramps did what I think he did, things are gonna heat up pretty quickly around here and I imagine Dante and his goons are gonna be pretty pissed once they realize what happened._

As Nick finally managed to get back onto his feet, Judy turned her attention towards Dante, glaring daggers at him.

"So this is how you treat other mammals? Just beating and threatening them at gunpoint? What kind of sadistic brutes are you?!"

That outburst was enough to silence the argument Dante and the hyena had been having. The zebra turned and stared at the rabbit.

Despite the intimidating gesture, she still managed to stand firm against the larger mammal trying to stare her down. For a little bunny to stand so boldly stand against a ruthless psychopath like Dante... Nick had a hard time telling if the reporter was incredibly brave, or just a clueless idiot in over her head.

_She's in over her head because of you, ya know..._

"Bold words, rabbit," Dante eyed her curiously. "And who might you be?"

"Judy Hopps, I'm with _The Animalia Explorer,_" her stance had become less hostile but she still stood resolute, refusing to relent beneath the equine's gaze.

"A reporter?" Dante's brow quirked in surprise, one of his ears twitching as if he somehow didn't hear her right, "All the way out here?"

"That's right," Judy nodded. "I'm the one funding this archaeological expedition, the expedition that _you_ and your associates have openly attacked," she jabbed a finger into the zebra's midsection, a gesture that probably seemed a lot more intimidating in her head, the fact she had to get up on the tips of her toes to reach that far definitely didn't help matters. "By threatening and assaulting my associates, you stand in violation of the Animalia Archaeological Concords, chapter four, section seventeen and are liable for a five-year prison sentence at minimum!"

Nick slapped a paw over his muzzle in embarrassment.

_Godsdamn dumb bunny..._

Dante snorted in disbelief, "Really? This is _your _expedition?" He pointed a hoof right in Judy's face. An action she didn't flinch at, simply nodding in response.

The striped equine turned away and took several steps, looking at the horizon of the temple wall as he did. "Nobody out here cares about the AAC, the fact you're naive enough to think it matters makes it obvious you don't understand how things really work out here." He turned around to face her again, looking straight into her eyes, "Which probably means you also didn't know that your 'associates' there lead you to this temple using research that was _stolen_ from me!"

That was enough to finally break Judy's composure, her ears going stiff and her eyes wide in shock as she was caught off guard by the accusation.

The zebra glanced over at Nick and tilted his head, "Guessing you left that little detail out of your sale pitch, huh?"

The fox awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "Think you're kinda oversimplifying things a bit..."

"Oh really?" Dante asked incredulously. "So you're saying I _didn't _bring you on to make sense of my findings and then you _didn't_ run off with all of my research in hopes of finding this place and taking its' spoils for yourself?"

Nick blinked, "Well...when you say it like that..."

Dante waved him off and turned his gaze back towards Judy, "I'm guessing this was some last chance for you, right? On the outs with your boss and finding some big story was the only way to keep him from cutting you loose?" His voice was laced with mockery and contempt, although Nick wasn't sure if it was being directed at him or the reporter.

_Probably both..._

"You were so desperate to find something that when this shady fox came along and offered you the supposed find of a lifetime, no strings attached, you didn't even question it. Just jumped right into it without stopping to ask who this fox really is or where his info even came from, am I hitting the nail on the head?"

The silence from Judy was uncomfortably telling for Nick. He couldn't tell what she was thinking, but he wouldn't have been surprised if she was seriously reconsidering all those less than flattering things her relatives had likely told her about foxes.

The zebra simply chuckled in response to the silence. "Don't feel too bad about it, it's a pretty common practice for small-time treasure hunters like him and Finn," he shrugged. "Gotta fund their little schemes somehow."

"You would know, Dante," Finnick growled, "at least we can say we aren't godsdamn psychos about it."

Dante just shrugged off the insult, "I simply do what's necessary to get the advantage. You understand that better than most, Finn, it's the way the game is played."

"Maybe," Finnick started. "But there's some lines you just don't cross in this 'game,' not that you ever cared about that sort of thing."

Dante snorted dismissively and turned back to look at the temple.

With the equine's focus diverted, Finnick motioned to get Nick's attention, nodding his head towards the wall in the opposite direction.

Making sure nobody noticed, Nick briefly looked over at the wall and noticed a huge gap that hadn't been there when they first arrived. All he could see on the other side was endless jungle and signs of trampled vegetation.

_Guess that's how Dante and his pals got in here._

As far as escape routes went, it was probably one of the riskier ones. He had no idea if that path would even lead back to the bay, plus, the chances of running into mercenaries that way would be pretty high. Knowing Dante, there were probably a lot more armed goons lurking around than just the ones he could see on the temple grounds.

Still, it was a better escape plan than trying to get back across the ravine seeing as how they only had the one grappling hook between the three of them. Best case scenario, only one of them, at the most, made it across before the others were shot.

_Not like I have any better ideas_, Nick silently sighed. _Guess running blindly into the jungle and hoping for the best is the plan then..._

"_Aaaanyways _," Dante continued, oblivious to the silent exchange going on between the two foxes. "There's still the matter of what you three found in there." He snapped his gaze back towards Judy, "Nick seems intent on being an unhelpful smartass, as usual, but I'm wondering if maybe you'd be more cooperative. I mean, you didn't know where the research came from, it'd hardly be fair for you to get caught up in this little dispute just because you got duped into helping these two with their little scheme."

He nodded at the reporter with a phony smile that was supposed to look friendly, in theory, and offered his hoof to her. "So what do you say? You tell me what's in that temple, and you don't have to worry about getting caught up in the blowback from this. Sound good? Play your cards right and you might even come out with something to show for this. I might be willing to give you a cut of what we find if you're helpful enough."

Judy just stared at Dante, she had managed to recover from the initial shock, an air of defiance returning to her posture. What followed was a tense silence as her paw refused to budge from her side and the zebra's hoof was left hanging in the air.

Nick couldn't tell what was going on in the determined little bunny's head, but he knew one thing for sure, the two of them would be having a very awkward talk once they got out of this.

_If we get out of this you mean..._

"This is getting us nowhere, Dante," Cackler cut in, his muzzle curled in a frustrated snarl. "I've seen that look a thousand times, she's not gonna talk, damn bunny's too stubborn."

Dante finally retracted his hoof, letting out a frustrated snort. "Fine, Cackler, we'll try things your way."

"About time…" the hyena muttered before pointing to the hyena and two springboks standing behind Nick and Judy. "You three, get back in there and get that door open, I don't care what you have to do, take Cilo with you and see if he can try squeezing through, maybe he'll be able to open it from the other side."

"On it, boss!" The other hyena beckoned over a striped weasel before climbing up the broken stairs and heading back into the temple, the two springboks following just behind him.

"You know I'm smaller than you guys, right?" the weasel yelled at them as he struggled to pull himself up the broken stairway. "Seriously couldn't give me a boost or something?"

"Quit 'yer moaning and get your worthless tail over here, Cilo!" the hyena yelled from inside the temple.

The last thing Nick heard was the weasel grumbling as he disappeared inside.

"Alright then, I think it's time we got took a more direct approach with these three." Dante glanced between the reporter and the two treasure hunters.

"I think it might be about time we started-" Cackler was cut off by radio static and a voice too distorted for Nick to understand. The mercenary muttered something under his breath as he reached for the radio attached to his vest and keyed it.

"Cackler here, this better be good," he growled into the radio. Nick couldn't tell what the mammal on the other end was saying, but it seemed to make the mammal commander very irritated.

"He what?... Then get the others on it...That's not team four's job...Gods...Fine, I'll deal with it, but there's going to be hell to pay, you can go ahead and figure out which one of you I'll be skinning for this once I get there." The hyena keyed the radio off and started making his way towards the gap in the wall. "I've gotta go check in with the patrol teams, blimming morons couldn't set up a perimeter on their own if their lives depended on it." He stopped after a few steps and glanced back, "You got things here, Dante?"

The zebra waved a dismissive hoof, "I'll be fine, just hurry up and do whatever it is I'm paying you and your team to do."

Cackler just sighed and called over an oryx, pointing a digit at Nick and his compatriots. "Make sure those three don't try anything stupid while I'm gone," the antelope mercenary nodded as the hyena rushed off, disappearing through the gap in the wall and pushing his way into the thick jungle on the other side.

_The perimeter guard are idiots? Guess that's a point in our favour, at least._

"Now then, let's give this another try," the zebra pulled out the pistol in his side hostler, keeping it pointed at the ground but making sure everybody could see it. "What did you and the rabbit find in there, Nick?"

Nick raised his paws in mock surrender, "I hate to kill the moment after all that chest beating, but we didn't find anything, the place was picked clean ages ago. You basically browbeat your lackeys and the bunny for nothing, not that you didn't enjoy it of course, but still, wasted effort."

The zebra's gaze darkened. "You really take me for an idiot, don't you?"

"Your words, not mine," the fox shrugged.

"Kid, maybe just this once, don't be a smartass?" Finnick groaned, covering his face with a paw. "I was really hoping it would the cigars and booze that killed me..."

Nick was simply stalling but he knew his mentor had a point, he needed to at least look like he was willing to make a deal. Dante wasn't exactly a mammal known for his patience and it wouldn't have been out of the question for him to just shoot all three of them here and now if he didn't think they'd talk. So he decided to throw out some bait.

"Okay Dante, here's the truth. We found a hidden room, but there was nothing in there but a bunch of worn down carvings, nothing we could make out."

He couldn't just cave right away, Dante knew him too well to not think that would be suspicious. He needed to waste his time with a lie first.

_And they do say the best lies have a hint of the truth in them._

The zebra huffed in annoyance before chambering a round and aiming the gun at Nick.

"Woah, hold on!" Nick shot his paws out in alarm. "Wilde came through here, okay? But so did the Blackhorns, whatever Wilde was after, they were too, and they were hot on his tail!"

Dante seemed unfazed by the revelation, keeping the gun trained on him.

"Think about it, why would he leave behind something for them to use? He'd destroy it all to keep them from using it! Why else would the temple be loaded with gunpowder?!"

The deafening crack of a gunshot resounded throughout the temple grounds, Nick's ears flattening in response, his tail shooting straight out in alarm and his fur standing on end. He instinctively started pawing at himself, trying to figure out where he'd been hit, only to finally look down and realize the shot had hit the ground in front of him.

"I've been reasonable so far Nick, but you're really starting to test my patience..." There was a slight ringing in his ears now, but he still managed to hear the zebra all the same. His headache started flaring up again as if to remind him what a psycho like Dante considered to be 'reasonable.'

The fox looked over at Judy, she did a decent job of keeping her composure, at least as much as anybody being held at gunpoint could, but the anxiousness was clear as day on her face. Her ears were straight up and swiveling, eyes darting in every direction, probably searching for some sort of escape. Nick guessed her fight or flight instincts had kicked in and it was only through sheer willpower that she was forcing herself to stay still instead of running for her life. That or possibly trying to go all bun fu on one of the mercs, knowing her.

Having grown even more impatient over the mounting silence, Dante grabbed Finnick and pressed the barrel of the gun against his skull. The smaller fox yelped in pain at the hot barrel now being pressed against him.

_Okay, that is NOT cool! _

Nick couldn't prevent his hackles from rising at the sight of his friend being threatened like that. Even a small growl emerged that he couldn't quite keep completely down. Dante seemed to notice, but it all it did was encourage him further. That was probably the exact reaction he wanted.

"I'm not in the mood for your shit, Nick, you know as well as I do that there's_ always_ something left behind, especially when it comes to somebody as clever as your buddy Sir Francis. Now stop beating around the bush and tell me what it is! This is your last chance!"

The look in Finnick's eyes told Nick to keep stalling, but he wasn't willing to test the zebra's patience any longer, not when he knew what kind of mammal he was dealing with.

"Alright! Alright! Fine, Dante!" Nick yelled, waving his paws in alarm. "You win...I'll give you what you want, just let Finn go."

The equine unceremoniously dropped Finnick to the ground. The desert fox grunted in pain as he landed awkwardly on his side.

"You alright, Gramps?" Nick asked, not even trying to hide the concern in his voice.

"I've been through worse, Kid" Finnick groaned as he picked himself up. "Really wishing I hadn't lost my last smoke now..."

"Enough stalling, what did you find in there?" Dante demanded, pointing the gun at Nick instead.

Nick pointed to the satchel at his side, "Calm down before you blow a fuse, I've got what you want _right _here."

"Toss it over," the zebra ordered, keeping his gun trained on Nick and motioning the nearby oryx to do the same.

Nick complied, pulling his journal out and tossing it in front of Dante.

_Gramps, that little surprise of yours had damn well better hurry up and get here, already!_

Dante bent down to pick up the journal, opening it and flipping through the pages.

"Everything I found, it's all in there. So...we settled up, now?"

"Almost…" the zebra answered, turning his gun once again on a surprised Finnick. "But first, you're going to need a little reminder as to why mammals don't cross me..."

"What the hell!?" an outraged Nick yelled.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Judy demanded, finally speaking up again.

"Wow, wow, wow, kind of excessive don't you think?" Finnick tried to reason. "Usually just cut off a paw for this sort of thing."

"I'm not big on soft punishments," Dante snorted, his voice dripping with malice. "I prefer to make sure the first lesson is a painful one."

"Finn!"

Nick couldn't contain himself, he sprang forward and tried to charge the zebra only to be blocked and knocked to the ground by the oryx guard.

The fox tried to get back up only to find himself pinned under the antelope's hoof. He struggled with all his might, shouting all manner of obscenities at Dante and the merc, but it was no use, the damned mammal was too strong and harsh language didn't seem to be doing the trick.

Dante shot the pinned fox a malevolent grin before turning his attention back to Finnick, taking his time to savour the moment as he lined up the shot. It was at this point that the commotion was interrupted by a sudden blast.

Nick felt the pressure on his chest ease up as the oryx mercenary stopped paying attention to him and focused on the source of the blast. The treasure hunter was quick to pull himself up only to hear another series of explosions and turned to see what was catching everybody's attention.

What he saw was a mass of hysteria and chaos laid before him as mammals around and inside the temple were yelling and attempting to flee a chain of detonations that had begun working their way down the halls and out the temple entrance, progressively getting larger and louder as an increasing number of gunpowder barrels were set off.

Nick briefly caught sight of the temple lighting up followed by a massive deafening explosion that cracked the entire building in half, fire erupting from its openings and chunks of stone being thrown in every direction. Not even a moment later, a tremendous shockwave of force and heated air slammed into the vulpine, throwing him off his feet.

The ringing in Nick's ears returned with a vengeance as he struggled to once again pull himself back up.

_Damn Gramps, that was one hell of a surprise… _

As he came to his senses and started pulling himself up, he looked around at the ensuing chaos, seeing that the explosion had managed to knock down every other mammal in the area. The temple itself had been almost completely destroyed, the blasts having cracked it open completely as columns of fire danced within its shattered husk. Large portions of the roof and walls were missing as well, presumably having been thrown clear of the area.

The explosion had seemed to cause a lot of damage to the mercenaries, or at the very least, a lot of confusion as the surviving mammals were either struggling to get back up or were rushing around in a confused panic, trying to make sense of what the hell had just happened.

Despite the window of opportunity he now had for escape, Nick knew he had to act quickly. It wouldn't take long for the surviving mercenaries to figure out what happened, and despite the advantage he had, they were still the ones with all the guns.

He saw a dazed Judy and Finnick nearby trying to get up. He'd grab them and escape, now if he only he could find-

_The journal!_

Sir Francis Wilde's journal was just sitting on the ground in the middle of everything. Dante must've dropped it in the explosion.

_No way I'm letting that asshole get his rotten hooves on that._

He quickly picked up the journal as he ran over to Judy and Finnick, calling out to them as he did.

"Come on guys, we have to go, now! Before these assholes figure out what just happened and make scarves out of our hides!" He grabbed the smaller mammals in each paw, pulling them up and onto their feet.

"Nick...what just..?" Judy tried to ask, still in a confused daze.

"No time! We have to go, now!"

"What?"

"Just move!"

Nick shoved both of them in the direction of the gap in the wall the mercenaries had made and they instinctively started running towards it.

The fox's ears flicked in response to the sound of yelling, looking back to see one of the mercenaries pointing in their direction. He didn't stick around to find out what the merc or his pals had in mind, springing ahead and making for the gap as fast as he could.

"We got a plan, Kid?" Finnick yelled, having finally gained enough of his senses to realize what was going on.

"Just keep running!" Nick yelled over the sound of gunfire breaking out. "Figure out a plan when we're not being shot at!"

Several bullets whizzed past as the three of them ran through the newly opened gap, but none of them struck close, slamming into the wall and ground ineffectually. Without any time to think and hearing only frantic yelling and gunfire behind them, they pushed as fast as they could towards the treeline.

Nick wasn't focused on anything at this point. Not the explosion, not the mercenaries shooting at them, not even Finnick and Judy, all he was focused on was pushing forward as fast as he could. The other two followed suit, the entire crews only focus being on getting as far away from the temple as possible. Nick hadn't even registered the change in scenery as he and the others finally escaped the temple grounds and vanished into the thick brush of the jungle.


	5. Escalation

Nick wasn't sure how long he had been running for. Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Things had been a blur ever since the explosion, vague memories of yelling, gunfire, and running for his life through the jungle flashed through his mind.

By the time he was finally able to make sense of his surroundings, he found himself bent over and gasping for air, trying to steady himself with his paws. The occasional explosion could still be heard in the distance, probably gunpowder barrels that hadn't gone off in the initial blast.

As he started to consider his next move, he suddenly felt a paw grabbing at his arm. The fox quickly spun around, shaking the arm off and unsheathing his claws to ward off the unknown assailant. The mammal in question turned out to be an alarmed Judy alongside an exhausted-looking Finnick.

Judy raised her paws in alarm. "Whoa, easy there, Nick! It's me!"

Nick lowered his claws, taking a sigh of relief that was interrupted by the rabbit's fist as it plowed straight into his face. He let out a pained grunt of surprise as it connected.

"What the hell, rabbit!?"

"Stolen research!? Are you kidding me!?" Judy started hammering her paws against Nick's arm in frustration. None of them hit particularly hard, but it probably wouldn't be long before they'd start bruising his arm. "You lied to me and tricked me into funding this expedition of yours with stolen research?!"

Nick grabbed her arms, trying to restrain her from whaling on him any further. "It was more like a hustle, really..."

"Hey, guys!" Finnick tried to cut in, having finally caught his breath. "Can we sort this out later when there _aren't_ a bunch of armed mammals trying to kill us?"

"I can't believe I trusted you!" Judy shouted.

"Guys, seriously…"

"You made me believe we could make a real difference! I thought I was going to help make the world a better place! Help mammals to better understand their past! But no! It turns out I was just being sweet-talked by some no-good, two-bit grave robber!" The rabbit struggled to break free from Nick's grip, the two of them oblivious to Finnick's attempts to grab their attention.

"Bah, to hell with this!"

Nick and Judy were both caught off guard by the smaller fox's surprisingly strong grip as he grabbed them both and pulled them behind a tree, forcing them down into the bushes.

Nick tried to object only to find Finnick's paw clamped around his muzzle, holding it shut while the older mammal turned to Judy and motioned for her to stay silent. It wasn't long before the outlines of several figures ran by where the three of them had been standing.

"They went this way!"

"I'll radio ahead!"

"Head them off before they make it to the boats!"

They stayed hidden in the bushes for another minute until they were certain the danger had passed.

"If you two are done nearly getting us killed," Finnick started, releasing his grip in Nick's muzzle, "I think it's about time we figured out how to get back to the boat and get the hell out of here."

"Yeah," Nick nodded in agreement. "There's probably a lot more of them out there searching for us, and I doubt they'll be in the best of moods after that little surprise you left for them, Gramps."

"Now you know why I still smoke," Finnick smirked. "Cause cigars _can_ save lives."

"Only if you forget about all the mercs you just blew up…"

"Guys, focus! We've got a problem!" Judy jumped in. "How are we going to make it back to the boat? You heard them, they know that's where we'll be heading!"

The reporter was right, there was only one viable route of escape for them and apparently, Dante knew it. How the hell were they gonna get out of here when there were gods knows how many mercenaries between them and their exit?

"Well?" Judy asked in anticipation.

"What's the plan, Kid?"

The truth was he had no plan, there wasn't enough time to put a decent one together before those mercenaries inevitably found them. They'd just have to wing it which suited the fox just fine, he was always better at that sort of thing anyway.

"Just follow my lead," Nick finally answered, motioning for the other two to follow as he slowly pushed his way through the jungle and back towards the bay.

It was slow going as the three of them moved through the vegetation, staying low to the ground and moving as quietly as possible in the hopes they would go unnoticed by the patrols searching for them.

"We should be fine," Nick said, trying to relieve the other's concerns as well as his own. "This jungle's pretty thick, even if their trackers are good, we'll probably be long gone by the time they've picked up our trail."

"Yeah, well, there's still the chance of us stumbling into one of their patrols," Finnick pointed out. "It only takes one of those idiots noticing us and then every last one of those assholes will be coming down on us."

"Then we'll just have to be extra careful." Nick nudged the rabbit beside him, "Right, Carrots?"

The reporter didn't say a word, just giving him a withering look before turning her gaze towards the path ahead.

_That's probably not a good sign_, the vulpine frowned. _Gonna have to deal with that fire later...once we get out of here_. He shoved those thoughts aside and continued leading the group through the jungle.

Despite how thick the tension was, things ended up being pretty uneventful as they pressed through the jungle. The vegetation was thick enough to hide them for the most part, and they were quiet enough to avoid catching the attention of any patrols looking for them. That combined with Nick's luck and intuition allowed the group to safely navigate the jungle without running into any surprises until they had nearly made it back to the bay. The salty smell of the air and the sound of rolling waves telling them that they were close.

"Not much further now, guys," Nick whispered. "I told you we'd be fine!" Just then, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"I hear someone up ahead," Judy whispered, pointing ahead.

"Same here," Finnick's ears twitched. "Sounds like...singing?"

Nick wasn't sure he heard Finnick right, "You wanna repeat that, Gramps?"

"He's right," Judy confirmed. "Somebody's singing."

Having a hard time believing them, Nick crept ahead, straining his ears in the hopes he could make out what the other two had heard. Eventually, his ears flicked as he finally picked up the sound of muffled singing, and he couldn't believe what he heard.

"_No, I won't leave._

_I wanna try everything._

_I wanna try even though I could fail_."

"No way…"

"What?"

"Gazelle..." Nick struggled not to laugh, "We've gods knows how many mercs searching for us, and one of them is singing freaking Gazelle."

"That Cackler guy wasn't kidding," Finnick rolled his eyes. "These guys really are idiots."

"Either way, we probably shouldn't stick around for the encore."

Nick tried to lead them around the Gazelle wannabe only to find their way blocked by a solid wall of smooth rock.

"Crap," Nick muttered. "Not gonna be able to go around them..."

He looked back in the direction of the singing and sighed. "Guess we gotta try and slip past."

Finnick shrugged, "If they're dumb enough to sing while searching for us, then they'll probably be dumb enough to sneak past without trouble."

"Let's hope so..."

The singing got louder as they moved forward, going on for another minute or so before somebody else finally cut in.

"For the love of all that is holy would you shut up with that damn singing already?!"

"What?" the other voice responded, "I'm just trying to liven the place up a bit."

"By singing blimming Gazelle?!"

The three of them were finally close enough to see who was talking. Finding a log to hide behind, Nick motioned for the other two to stay down while he peered overtop to get a better look at the mammals in question. At first glance, there were two mercenaries standing in the middle of a relatively open clearing in the jungle.

The mammal that had been singing was a lean looking cheetah with a rifle slung over his shoulder and his irritated partner was a spiral-horned nyala sitting on a nearby stump with a similar looking rifle resting on his lap. Small white stripes could be seen on the parts of the antelope's brown fur that weren't covered by his clothing or armour.

"She's a modern-day hero," the cheetah insisted. "She champions the cause of downtrodden preds like me."

The nyala rolled his eyes. "Okay, first of all, why the hell would you care about that? You get paid to kill mammals for a living. And given your habit of putting a bullet in every prey asshole that even looks at you funny, I'd hardly consider you one of the 'downtrodden.' That poor bastard back in Chuigeria certainly wouldn't think so."

The cheetah scoffed, "That goat prick had it coming! Calling me a blimming chomper savage...he's lucky he only lost a kneecap...also his house when we burnt it down, I guess..." A thoughtful look crept on to the cheetah's face, "Looking back now...I think that might've explained why he was so upset."

"Chomping carrots! These mammals are terrible!" Judy muttered in shocked disbelief.

"That's mercenaries for ya, bunny" Finnick noted. "Jobs like that don't exactly attract mammals of high moral standing."

"And second," the antelope continued, ignoring the cheetah's train of thought. "No she blimming isn't! She's just some airhead who thinks having a bunch of tigers around her'll get her points with idiot preds like you!"

Even from their hiding place, Nick and the others could hear the offended growl coming from the cheetah.

"And third," the other mammal said, unfazed by the feline's outrage. "Nobody else likes that pop music kak!"

"Uhh...I like her," a third voice joined in.

Nick took another look to see who was talking, finally noticing a hare with black-tipped ears and a mix of greyish and reddish brown fur wearing a pocketed tactical shirt.

The nyala looked over at the hare and waved him off, "Shut up and get back to patrolling, Sprong! Boss pays you for your ears, not your opinion."

The hare shrugged and walked off, meeting up with a honey badger who was patrolling along the trees at the edge of the clearing.

Nick dropped back behind cover, turning to face Judy and Finnick. "I count four mercs, a cheetah and antelope on guard in the clearing, and two more on patrol, a hare and a badger."

"A hare?" Finnick's brow furrowed. "Hate dealing with those types…"

Judy glared daggers at the smaller fox.

"What?" the desert fox shrugged. "They're harder to sneak around, it's like they have damn radar dishes on their head. Nick and I were doing a job once that got blown when somebody accidentally knocked a pin loose and a nearby hare heard it. Bastard _literally_ heard a pin drop from two rooms away!"

"Not gonna be easy sneaking through, not with that hare covering most of the areas with actual cover," Nick pondered. "Might be better to just double back and see if we can find another way past…"

"We don't have time for that," Finnick argued. "Cackler's goons are already tearing this jungle apart looking for us, the last thing we need is to waste more time prancing around the jungle like idiots!"

"Well if you have a better idea, Gramps, I'd love to hear it."

"Why don't we go over them?"

The two foxes stared at Judy, caught off guard by her suggestion.

"What do you mean, Fluff?"

Judy pointed up at the canopy. "The trees are pretty tightly packed. We might be able to just climb up and use the branches to get from one to the next without being seen. Foliage keeps us concealed, and we can get through without being noticed because they're idiots, the kind who sing while hunting and don't think to look up."

"Bold move, bunny," Finnick grinned. "I like it."

Watching the movements of the patrol and mercenaries, Nick realized that Judy was right. Not once did any of them look up at the trees, they only seemed focused on what was in their immediate vicinity.

"Just gotta stay still and not make any noise whenever that hare's nearby and we should be fine," Nick speculated, "yeah...this could work." He looked over at the nearest tree, figuring it would be a good place to start. "Alrighty then, Gramps, let's hope age hasn't slowed you down too much."

Finnick scoffed, "Been managing to keep up with you for nearly twenty years, that sure as hell ain't about to change now."

The three of them started climbing up the first tree, making sure nobody looked their way. Once they were high enough, they used the sturdier looking branches as bridges to cross from one tree to the next, always keeping an eye on the mercenaries below to make sure they wouldn't be noticed.

They had almost managed to safely bypass the group and get to thicker cover when they thought they heard a mercenary starting to shout. The three of them quickly pressed themselves against the branches and refused to move, even after they realized it was just the cheetah starting to sing again.

"No more signing, mam, seriously." The nyala interrupted.

"Why not?"

"Because you're going to give our position away, you godsdamn idiot!"

"So what? There's no way Wilde and his crew will make it through. Every route back to the beach is blocked, all we gotta do is just wait for them to show up or for one of the other groups to catch them."

The spiral-horned mammal let out a frustrated sigh, covering his face with a hoof. "The boss and rich boy both say the foxes have something important, they want 'em taken alive if possible, or at the very least intact. Gonna search 'em and find out what they know."

"Why bother trying to take them alive? It'd be a lot easier to just search a corpse."

"Either way, things'll be a lot simpler if we take 'em by surprise. And it's gonna be a hell of a lot harder to do that if they hear that bloody singing of yours!"

"Fine," the cheetah finally relented, letting out a sigh.

"Lousy, stuck up hoofer," he muttered under his breath barely loud enough for the Nick and the others hear.

"What was that?" the nyala's ears flicked in the cheetah's direction.

"Nothing…"

"Better be nothing..."

Once it was obvious they weren't going to be noticed, Nick motioned for Finnick and Judy to cross the branch to the next tree.

Judy made her way across and Finnick shortly afterward while Nick kept his attention on the other mammals, making sure the coast was clear.

"We made it," Judy whispered.

"You're up, Kid."

Taking one last look to make sure he wouldn't be noticed, Nick started slowly shuffling his way across the branch towards the other tree. He was about halfway across when the branch started to groan and crack under his weight.

"Hmm?" the patrolling hare's ears snapped in the direction of the noise.

"Crap…" Nick muttered to himself, pressing as tightly against the branch as possible in the hopes the hare wouldn't notice him up there. He looked over and saw the dread on Judy and Finnick's faces as they realized their chances of being spotted had just skyrocketed.

"What's up?" another voice asked. "You hear something?" It wasn't a voice he'd heard before so Nick guessed it belonged to the patrolling badger.

The fox held his breath as he remained motionless, if that hare noticed them, things would get ugly, and fast. It had probably only been a few seconds, but with all the tension, it felt like an eternity.

"Nah," he finally heard the hare answer. "Just imagining things."

Nick looked up at Judy and Finnick again, seeing both of them let out a sigh of relief. He mirrored their sigh's only to freeze up again as the branch started to groan and crack in protest, much more loudly than before.

"Hang on…" the hare stopped in his tracks and turned around. "No way I imagined that…"

"Somebody here?" the badger ask.

"Starting to seem like it," the vulpine could hear the sound of feet crunching against the debris on the jungle floor, growing in volume as the source got closer. "I'm gonna check it out."

Nick once again pressed himself tightly against the tree branch.

_Please don't see me, please don't see me, please don't see me…_

Luck wasn't on his side when the hare entered his field of vision, now standing directly below him with a pistol drawn as he looked from side to side, trying to figure out where the noise came from.

A few more seconds, that was all Nick needed and then the hare would just give up and go back on patrol. Or at least that's what he probably would've done if the branch didn't start to buckle again, the crack was a lot quieter, but with the hare so close, it may as well have been as loud as a gunshot.

"What the?"

The buck looked up and Nick found himself staring directly into a pair of dark brown eyes.

When the mercenary realized what he was staring at, his eyes shot open wide in alarm and his ears went ramrod straight.

"Shit! It's Wilde!"

Before Nick could even react, the hare fired off two shots in his direction. Both ended up slamming ineffectively into the large branch. Acting on instinct, Nick rolled off the side out of the way of a third bullet and found himself hanging off the branch by a single paw. The shift in weight and the impact of the bullets ended up being too much and the branch broke loose from the tree, causing the fox to tumble to the ground.

Nick felt a pain in his ribs but did his best to ignore. Sitting up, he saw that the fallen branch had landed next to him with a small reddish brown paw now sticking out from underneath next to a discarded gun. It didn't take a genius to figure out who that paw belonged to.

_Apparently shooting out a branch that's probably five times your weight while standing directly under it's a bad idea, who knew?_

A bullet flew right past the treasure hunter's head, Nick immediately rolled out of the way as another struck where he sitting a moment earlier. Without any time to think, he grabbed the discarded gun and aimed in the direction of his attacker. Seeing that it was the badger, he squeezed off four shots in rapid succession, two of them going wide while one struck the mammal dead center and another hit in him in the arm. The mercenary only managed to let out a single pained cry as he spun around before collapsing face first onto the jungle floor.

Nick barely had time to think before he picked up the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. Not taking any chances, he clambered over the fallen branch just as a hail of bullets flew in his direction and peppered the wood. Briefly peeking over the branch, he saw that it was the antelope and cheetah from earlier, finally putting those rifles of their to use as they suppressed his makeshift piece of cover.

As bullets started chewing up the branch, Nick curled up and made himself as small as possible, trying to protect himself with his arms and paws as rounds started punching through his cover and showering him with bits of splintered wood.

"You're in trouble now, Wilde!" he heard the cheetah yell over the roar of assault rifle fire.

"Boss'll get what he needs from you once he takes it off your bullet-riddled corpse!" the other mercenary yelled.

_So much for the whole 'take 'em alive' plan..._

"Is this about the temple?" Nick yelled back. "Because I swear that wasn't my idea!"

When the firing stopped, Nick took the chance to speak up again.

"Okay, I know there's been some misunderstandings, mistakes were made, some people got flattened, others got blown up and tempers are running a bit high. But I'm willing to put this all behind me and we can just go our separate ways before we all end up doing something we might regret, maybe I can even send you guys a cake or something as an apology, sound good?"

The mercenaries responded by unleashing another salvo of fire.

"Fine, be that way," Nick yelled again. "Don't blame me for what happens next!"

The branch was rapidly disintegrating as the mercenaries' weapons chewed through it, Nick had to put an end to this soon or he wouldn't have any cover left at all. He looked at the pistol grasped in his paws.

_Okay, ten rounds, three and four makes seven shots fired. Should have three left. Idiots are probably just standing in the open so shouldn't be hard. _

As the assault rifle fire died down again, Nick took his chance and peeked over his cover. He saw that they were, indeed, still standing in the open and reloading.

"This is why you idiots really should learn to use cover more!" He lined up a shot and pulled the trigger.

_*Click_*

The chamber of the gun pulled back to reveal it was empty.

_Okay...wasn't planning on the hare not having a full magazine..._

"Uhhh, any chance you'd believe I was just trying to give you guys some pointers?"

The hail of bullets that quickly followed suggested that they didn't.

Nick quickly ducked back down behind the branch. "You know, I think I liked you guys a lot better when you were just singing and reminiscing about shooting goats!"

His plan having failed, Nick tossed the empty gun aside and let out a frustrated sigh. "Guess it's time to make a run for it..."

Just as he was about to try and make a break for the trees, the gunfire stopped, replaced by the sound of pained grunts as somebody was struck repeatedly, followed by the sounds of a struggle.

Peering over the remnants of the dislodged branch, the fox was shocked to see that Judy and Finnick had caught the mercenaries by surprise and were now pummeling them.

The cheetah had been knocked to the ground with Finnick standing on his back, a large branch gripped in his paws that was probably at least twice his size. As the mercenary tried to get back up, the small fox swung the branch down on the feline's head, knocking him out cold with a brutal thwack.

The nyala was struggling against Judy, her feet firmly planted on his back and pulling on the strap of his rifle, causing the weapon to choke the larger mammal as it pressed against his throat. While Judy had managed to get the drop on the larger mammal, he was already starting to recover and overpower her. The antelope managed to get a firm grip on his rifle and began pulling it away from his neck, the rabbit's own grip starting to falter against his greater physical strength.

Just as it looked like he was about to throw Judy off, Finnick leaped off the downed cheetah and swung the branch right between the nyala's legs. There was a sickening crunch followed by a high pitched squeal of agony as the mercenary fell to his knees and cupped his hooves over his unmentionables.

Capitalizing on the opening Finnick gave her, Judy pushed off the antelopes back, pulling on the rifle strap as hard as she could. The attached weapon flew straight into the wincing nyala's face, slamming into him hard enough to break off one of his horns with a loud crack. The mammal's head snapped back and he went limp as he fell over backward, unconscious before he even hit the ground.

As Judy touched down on the ground, Nick jumped over the branch and ran towards them.

"Holy crap, that was amazing!" he clapped in amazement. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Now's not the time, Kid!"

Nick shook his head, "Right, still got a lot of mammals trying to kill us. We need to get moving, now! There's no way somebody didn't hear all that!"

"No kidding," Finnick huffed, tossing the branch aside. "We've probably got five minutes at the most before every last one of these assholes is on top of us!"

"Then we need to move fast!" Judy brushed herself off and started heading towards the beach with Finnick while Nick grabbed a pistol off the downed badger merc and followed after them.

They pushed through the jungle with far more haste than before, shoving their way through bushes and hopping over obstacles as they made for the shore.

"There's the boat up ahead!" Nick pointed out, finally able to see it anchored just off the beach. "Just need to make a break for it before any more of those-"

"Get down!" Judy whispered.

"Oh, shit!" the fox cursed, spotting a team of mercenaries standing guard on the beach with several rigid-hulled inflatable boats beached on the sand.

Nick and the others quickly ducked into the nearby bushes before any of the mammals had a chance to notice them.

"Great…" Finnick grumbled, "Of course they'd have a team guarding the boat…"

"How are we going to get past them?" Judy asked. "They're sitting right on top of our only way out of here."

Nick took another look, there were five mercenaries on the beach. Unlike the last group they ran into, they seemed far more alert, watching the jungle for any sort of movement. He wouldn't have been surprised if they heard the gunshots and were just waiting for the three of them to show up.

He took a look at the gun he had taken off the badger from earlier and checked the magazine.

_Only half a mag...great..._

Nick shook his head, "No way we're gonna be able to take those guys by surprise, they're pretty much watching every avenue of approach. And we definitely won't have time to fight all of them and get out before more of their pals show up..."

"Well, we can't just sit around waiting," Finnick pointed out. "This whole place is gonna be swarming with mercs soon enough after that little shit show earlier…"

Nick furrowed his brow as he tried to think of something. With their only escape route cut off and the enemy rapidly closing in, they needed a plan, and quickly.

"Don't you worry your ridiculously large ears, Gramps," Nick grinned as an idea came to him. "Cause I've got just the plan to get us out of this mess in one piece." It was a risky one, but given how desperate the situation was, it would have to do.

"We're not gonna like this, are we?" Judy hesitantly asked.

"Probably not," Nick answered. "I'm gonna try to grab their attention and make a run for it. They chase after me, you guys make for the boat after they're gone, and then swing around to pick me up after. Nice and simple!"

Judy just stared at the vulpine in disbelief, "I'm confused...the look on your face seems to suggest you think that's brilliant, but everything you just said sounded completely insane..."

Nick sighed, "Bunnies never were the type to appreciate my genius."

"No, she's right," Finnick objected. "I mean really? Really?! Your 'plan' is to have gods knows how many of Dante and Cackler's goons chasing you through the jungle in the hopes that we'll somehow get to the boat, and then back to you before this entire place is crawling with those assholes? That is a stupid ass plan, Kid!

Nick shrugged, "Hey, you know what they say, a stupid plan is better than no plan."

Finnick sputtered at that, probably trying not to choke on his own rage and disbelief. "Nobody says that! You're the only one who says that! There are so many ways this thing can go sideways, and then we're all dead!"

"They were heading this way," a distant voice barked from further back in the jungle, disrupting the argument.

"Search the area," a second voice ordered. "They can't have gone far."

Nick nodded his head in the direction of the voices. "Well, if you don't like that plan, we could always just sit tight and wait for those guys to find us. I'm sure they'd love to show you what they thought of that little cigar trick of yours."

Realizing they were out of options, Finnick let out a frustrated sigh. "Godsdammit, Kid! I sure hope you know what you're doing…"

The red fox shot his partner a cocky grin, "Come on, you know me well enough to answer that one on your own."

"That's what I was afraid of…"

"Great!" Nick pointed at Judy. "Okay Carrots, once I get those guys chasing me, you and Gramps make a break for the boat and get out of here." He pointed to the northern edge of the bay, I'll be heading that way, you guys head in that direction and find a spot to pick me up and then we can all get the hell out of here. Just stay still and keep quiet until the beach is clear."

The reporter shook her head, "I'm going with you."

"What?"

That wasn't the answer Nick had been expecting, maybe he misheard her.

"You heard me!"

_Apparently not…_

"No way, Fluff! This is already dangerous enough!"

Judy shook her head again, "Finnick is right, your plan is stupid, like, really stupid. Like, this-is-definitely-gonna-go-wrong-and-you're-gonna-need-somebody-to-bail-you-out-when-it-goes-off-the-rails kind of stupid."

"Look, I get it, you've smacked around a couple of mercs and it's got you feeling cocky, but this is serious. I'm not going to let you just jump into danger like that just because you want to kick some asshole in the muzzle."

The doe's eyes narrowed, "You already put me in danger yourself when you dragged me into this little scheme of yours and shoved me into the crosshairs of that psycho zebra."

"Uhh..." Nick didn't really have a response to that, the rabbit had a good point.

"Besides, we don't have time to argue about this." She gestured back in the direction of the patrols that were encroaching ever closer.

Seeing no other options, Nick sighed and relented, "Fine, but stay close and move fast, don't do anything stupid."

"Too late for that last one…" Judy mumbled under her breath.

Nick was just about to make his move when he suddenly realized something.

"Oh right, before we do this…" he reached into his satchel and pulled out Sir Francis' journal, shoving it into Finnick's paws. "Hold onto this for me, will ya?"

"Oh, this too," Judy took the camera attached to her hip and placed it in Finnick's arms. "Don't need that thing weighing me down while we do this."

"Really? That's it?" Even with his face hidden behind the journal and camera in his arms, it was obvious Finnick was scowling. "Don't have anything else you two want me to carry? Maybe your purse? Any snacks you have? It's not like we have mammals trying to kill us or anything…"

Nick rolled his eyes, "Oh quit your whining, Gramps. We're the ones they'll be shooting at."

"Once you get to the boat, how are you gonna know where to pick us up?" Judy asked.

"Easy," Finnick shrugged. "I'll just follow the sounds of gunfire."

"Fair enough…" Judy nervously replied.

"Second thoughts?" Nick questioned, noticing how anxious she looked. "Last chance to stay with Gramps."

The bunny fixed the red fox with a harsh gaze, "I'm not backing out now," her voice firm with resolve.

"Then let's do this."

Finnick stayed crouched in the bushes while Nick and Judy worked their way up a small incline to get a good vantage of the mercenary team on the beach.

"Okay, as soon as I fire, start running, this is gonna get ugly fast," Nick instructed, turning to look at Judy. "You ready?"

Some of the anxiousness in her violet eyes had returned, but the bunny still nodded firmly.

Looking down at the mercenaries, Nick gripped his pistol and lined up the sights. Aiming for one of the mercenary boats, he squeezed off several shots. He had no idea if he actually hit anything since he already turned tail and ran in the opposite direction as soon as he was certain he'd made enough noise. The fox heard a number of surprised exclamations as he and the rabbit bolted and knew it wouldn't be long before the mercenaries figured out what had happened and gave chase.

"Keep running, Fluff!"

"I am running!" Judy yelled as she overtook Nick and started to gain a lead on him.

"Uhhh...good...keep doing that," Nick replied as he struggled to keep up.

The two of them pushed forward as fast as they could. Shouts and gunshots rang out behind them, wood and bark splintering around them as bullets missed their marks and struck nearby trees. The ground started to slope uphill the further they ran, but Nick and Judy were too focused on outpacing the mercenaries to give it any thought.

It wasn't long before the gunfire stopped, but they kept pushing forward. After a while, neither of them could even hear the mercenaries anymore and they finally stopped to catch their breath.

"I think we lost them."

"For now," Nick replied through exhausted pants. "Can't...stick around though, won't...be long...before they catch up."

"Then come on, let's get to the shore and meet up with Finn." Judy started making her way towards the water.

"Just...gimme a sec." Nick was still keeled over trying to catch his breath. "Didn't think we'd be doing this much running today…"

His break was cut short by an immediate rustling off to his side. Before he had a chance to even look over, a heavy force slammed Nick in the side, sending him sprawling towards the ground.

As he was trying to register what had just happened, he felt a large paw grasp his throat and upper body before slamming him against a tree.

Looking down at the large paw that had engulfed him, he saw that it was attached to a very pissed looking lion.

Nick instinctively tried to shoot the feline, only to look down at an empty paw and realize he wasn't holding his gun anymore. Evidently, he had dropped it at some point, either when the mercenary blindsided him or during all the running.

"Carrots…little help...please?" Nick struggled to call out, the lion's tight grip making it difficult to talk.

He looked past the lion's furious muzzle and saw the reporter charging right towards them. The mercenary hadn't noticed, but Nick was pretty certain of what she had in mind, and he didn't like the idea one bit.

"Carrots, wait! No, no, no, no, no-" his pleading was cut off as Judy leaped forward and drove her foot right into the lion's back. Knocking the large mammal forward into the tree along with the hapless fox unlucky enough to be caught in the middle.

Nick let out a pained yelp as the lion's mass slammed into him and squeezed him against the tree, knocking all the air out of him. The impact from the reporter had caused the large feline to fall over and drop the stunned vulpine who was left crumpled on his side and wheezing for air.

"Why...would you do that?" Nick weakly asked, still struggling for air and feeling nearly paralyzed from the pain.

"Sorry!" Judy yelped, clearly shocked and embarrassed at what she had just done to him. "Was trying to get him to let you go!"

The rabbit immediately leaped backward out of the way of a massive clawed paw as the recovered lion tried to take a swing at her.

"Now you've done it, long ears!" he roared as he unleashed another flurry of claw swipes at the doe. "There's gonna be nothing left of the both of ya's but shredded meat and fur by the time the rest of the boys catch up!"

"Uhh, Nick? Bailed you out and all, any chance you can return the favour?" Judy called out as she ducked and weaved out of the way of the lion's attacks. Always staying just out of range of his claws but unable to find a good opening to attack.

"Just...need a minute…" Nick croaked as he struggled to pull himself back up onto his feet. He took a few more deep breaths before he was finally able to move again. Everything felt sore still, but at least he could actually help now.

The lion didn't notice Nick, his focus solely on Judy. He kept up a relentless onslaught of swipes and kicks, forcing her to fight defensively.

Seeing an opportunity, Nick unsheathed his claws and charged the lion from behind, successfully managing to dig them into the larger mammal's back despite their mangled state.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the lion stumbled forward onto his knees. Nick took advantage and quickly scaled up to the back of the lion's head, pulling out his grappling hook and wrapping the attached rope around the stunned mammal's neck.

"I know, right? How much does it suck when some asshole is trying to strangle you?" Nick taunted as he tightened the rope. The feline grasped at it, struggling to pull the rope off.

"Carrots, you mind giving me a paw?" Nick yelled. "Don't have time to put this guy to sleep!"

He saw the bunny charging forward to take another running leap at the lion, but he was too focused on trying to keep his hold on the rope to properly brace himself. There was a pained roar from the lion as the rabbit's foot connected and he pitched backward. The movement was so sudden that Nick lost his grip and was immediately flung off the mercenary. He felt the wind knocked out of him for a second time as he landed unceremoniously on his back. Too stunned to move, all he could do was stare up at the trees and sky above him.

_Why does this keep happening to me?_

"You okay, Nick?" A pair of black tipped ears poked into the fox's field of view followed by the mildly concerned looking muzzle of the bunny they belonged to. "Come on, you can rest later," she grabbed his paw and helped pull him up.

Looking over, Nick saw that the lion was keeled over on his side, groaning in pain as his paws were cupped over a very bloody looking muzzle.

"Damn, that is one mean kick you're packing there, Fluff."

"You would know..."

"I guess I would," memories of the kick back on the boat now flashing through his mind. Looking at the lion now, he realized she probably had been holding back then.

_Just try not to give her any reasons to kick you...or at least any more..._

The sound of rustling and shouting in the distance caught the fox's attention. Looking over, Nick started to make out the sight of more mammals heading in their direction.

He looked over at Judy who was looking in the same direction before she snapped her gaze back to him.

"We need to go," Judy urged, "now!"

"Good idea," Nick nodded and followed the rabbit as she ran off towards the shore. "How about we just call it a draw, sound good?" he yelled back at the lion as he ran.

"Over here," the downed predator called in a voice that sounded more nasally than before, "they're heading for the shore!"

"You tend to get a lot of mammals trying to kill you, don't you?" Judy commented as they pushed through the jungle towards the beach, bobbing and weaving out of the way of plants, logs, trees, and other obstacles as they ran.

"You know they're shooting you too, right?" Several trees in front of them suddenly bursting with bits and pieces of wood and bark off as the cracking of gunshots erupted. "Case in point!"

"And who's fault is that?" The rabbit shot back before suddenly stopping and yelping in surprise.

Caught off guard, Nick crashed right into her back, knocking her forward and nearly off the edge of a cliff overlooking the bay below. He quickly reached out and grabbed her, pulling the doe back to safety.

"Okay, that one was my bad, but I'm also your best chance at getting out of this alive so maybe just cut back on the sass, at least for the moment."

The two of them ducked behind a large stone, giving themselves a temporary reprieve as they looked for a way down to the shore below. From the looks of it, there wasn't any safe path down to the bottom.

"Great...dead end..." As Nick looked out over the bay, he saw their boat in the distance sailing towards them. "Well, at least Gramps managed to make it off the beach."

"How do we get down to him?" Judy asked.

Nick looked at the cliff, there was a downward slope covered in loose rocks, but it looked like it ended with a straight drop the rest of the way. Not that they could go anywhere else seeing as half of the mercenaries in the jungle were probably boxing them in up here. There was one option, but he knew the rabbit wasn't gonna like it.

"We jump."

The reporter's ears twitched in agitation, "Say that again?"

"Well unless you think that flying bun fu kick of yours will be enough to handle all those trigger-happy lunatics right behind us, I don't think we have much of a choice."

"How is dashing ourselves on the water below a better choice!?"

"We got them trapped!" one of the mercenaries yelled. "Move in and finish them off!" They were out of time, and arguing definitely wasn't going to get them anywhere.

"Sorry in advance," Nick started. "Try and make yourself as straight as possible when you fall, trust me, you don't want to belly flop from this high up."

"Wait, what do you mea-" that was all Judy managed to utter before Nick pushed her down the slope.

"NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!" she screamed as she slid down the rock slope and over the ledge.

"Sorry, Fluff!" Nick took a deep breath before jumping forward and sliding down the slope after the bunny.

His legs protested in pain as he found himself scraping against the loose rocks on his way down, but that was still less painful than the bullets flying past him would be if they hit, so he fought through it, occasionally grimacing in pain as he slid until the ground dropped out from under him and he went over the edge. He could only hear the wind flowing past him as he rapidly approached the ocean below.

Keeping himself as straight as possible, the flox plunged deep into the water, a brief shock to his system as he was suddenly submerged. Quickly recovering, he immediately started swimming for the surface as fast as possible, gasping for air once he finally broke the water.

"Dammit, Nick! Are you trying to get us killed?!" a soaked Judy yelled at him as he surfaced.

"No, just nearly," he pointed towards their boat, Finnick waving over at them from the side. "Go!"

They both sprinted for the boat. Amidst all the splashing and churning of water, Nick made out the sound of weapons fire from somewhere above. Bullets tearing through the water around him as he focused on getting to safety before one of the mercs above managed to land a lucky shot.

"Gramps! Get 'er going, now!" Nick yelled once he was certain the older mammal was in earshot. He heard the engine chugging as it started up and the pinging of bullets as they bounced off the boat's metal surface.

Unfazed, he pulled himself over the side and reached down for Judy's paw once she was close enough. He tried his best to ignore the bullets slamming against the boat, but he still couldn't help but flinch whenever one struck just a little too close for comfort.

Once Judy was on the boat, Nick slammed himself down against the floor, making himself as flat as possible. Looking over, he saw the reporter doing the same.

"Gramps, get us out of here!"

The engines roared to full power and the treasure hunter felt the boat rock as it took off at full speed. He and the bunny stayed flat against the floor for what felt like ages, looking over to see that Finnick himself was doing the same as he drove. He kept low and only occasionally raised his head to look out the front window, making sure they weren't going to crash into anything.

Even after the boat was clear of the bay, Finnick still kept pushing the motors at full throttle, putting as much distance between them and the mercenaries as possible. Eventually, the motors died down and Nick felt the boat slow to a gentle drift.

"The motors are about to blow out, we're gonna need to let them cool off for a bit." Finnick jumped down and offered a paw to Judy.

"Thanks," the rabbit grabbed the offered paw, letting the desert fox help her up on to her feet. "What about the other boats? Won't they come after us?"

"Won't be a problem," Finnick assured the rabbit. "Smashed up their engines before I left to find you two. They won't be leaving that beach any time soon."

"Nice thinking, Finnick."

"Don't I know it," the fox shoved the camera he was holding back into Judy's arms. "Here, you can have this back."

"Thanks," the reporter began looking the camera over. "Uhhh...it's dented...and...is that...blood?" Her ears shot up in alarm at the sight of the red smear covering her _Pandasonic_. "Why does my camera have blood on it?!"

"One of the mercs stayed behind, needed to bash him over the head and it was the closest thing around," Finnick stated in a tone that made it sound like it was a completely normal thing to do. "Thanks for that, by the way."

"You're...welcome…" she turned it on, confirming that it still worked despite the damage. "At least you didn't break it…"

"I'd be more thankful for the fact we made it out of there in one piece, bunny," he responded as he walked past her towards Nick.

The red fox held out his paw for Finnick, only for it to be ignored as the small fox walked past him, grabbing a wrench and jumping up to examine the boat's motors. Nick pulled himself up, shooting Finnick an irritated look that he didn't notice.

Finally having a moment, he took in the state of the boat. To say it had taken a beating would have been a gross understatement. It was littered with dents and holes on all sides. The front windshield had been shattered and the console itself had taken several hits, bits of wire and broken electronics hanging loosely from gaping holes.

"What's it look like, Gramps?" Nick asked as he bent over to take a look at the state of the outboard motors.

They both looked pretty battered, but the left motor was definitely in the worse shape. A large amount of the casing had been blown away, exposing the engine beneath. It was a smoking mess of twisted and jagged metal to the point where Nick almost couldn't even tell what he was looking at anymore. The other motor looked like it had taken a couple of glancing hits and had one or two holes, but it didn't look like anything vital had been seriously damaged.

"Right motor's taken a beating but should still be intact enough for us to drive," Finnick explained.

"But this…" he tapped the left motor with the wrench, only for it to shudder at the contact and fall loose, crashing into the water and leaving behind a smattering of bubbles as it sunk into the depths of the ocean. "Yeah…"

"Will that one be enough to get us safely back to Port Breelu?"

"Still need to let it cool, and we'll have to take it easy." Finnick nodded in thought, "But it should last long enough to take us the rest of the way."

Nick nervously scratched at the back of his neck, "Well, any trip we can walk away from, right?"

"Yeah, about that…" Finnick stepped away from the motor and shot Nick a piercing glare. "You mind telling me how the _hell_ Dante found us all the way out here?"

Nick's ears shot up in alarm, with all the time they had just spent running for their lives, he never had the chance to figure out exactly how Dante knew where they were.

"Uhhh," he stammered, trying to come up with a good answer. "Lucky guess?"

The look on Finnick's face told him that he didn't.

"Really?" Finnick furrowed his brow. "You sure you didn't screw up and talk to the wrong guy? Or maybe steal something of his when you bailed on him?"

"Nothing," Nick shook his head. "Just his research."

"And you never left anything lying around that he could mess with?"

Nick froze at that suggestion, "Well..." Remembering some of the equipment he had left unattended during his previous time with the zebra.

"Well, what?"

"Nothing he could use." He pulled out a pawheld GPS from his belt satchel, "Just this GPS."

Finnick immediately stormed over, grabbing the device out of Nick's paw, and started tearing into it. He pried it open and started pawing over every individual piece in a fevered search.

"It's a passive receiver, Gramps! It can't be used to transmit our location!"

The fox was silenced as Finnick suddenly turned around, a furious look on his face as he pelted Nick in the face with something small. He grabbed at it with his paws, catching it after it bounced off his head. Looking down, he saw what it was that had made his mentor so angry, in his paws lay a broken transponder.

"Oh…"

Whatever Nick was going to say next was quickly forgotten as he was pelted with more pieces of the eviscerated GPS.

"Ow! Hey! Quit it! Seriously, that could take out an eye!" Nick tried in vain to cover his face from Finnick's furious onslaught, "Okay! That one hit my nose!"

"Are you shitting me?!" Finnick finally yelled, his voice dripping with fury, "You just leave that thing alone around Dante and don't even bother to check it for a godsdamn tracker after you decide to rip him off?!"

Nick raised his paws in surrender, "Well what kind of paranoid psycho jams trackers into another mammal's gear?"

"You have got to be kidding me," Finnick shook his head in frustration, "have you forgotten what kind of a mammal we're dealing with? When have you ever known a psycho like Dante to do anything halfway, especially when treasure and money are involved? This is the same guy who drowned all four of the Ramson brothers just because one of those idiots tried to swipe one of his maps, remember?"

Nick remembered that story, he was seriously hoping it was an exaggeration, but really, it was the exact sort of thing he'd expect from somebody as ruthless as that damn zebra.

"You always do this crap, Kid," Finnick shook his head. "So focused on the score that you end up missing the smaller details, and it always ends up finding a way to bite us in the ass."

"Well...at least we always find a way to pull through, right?" Nick tried to give a half-hearted shrug.

"We get lucky," Finnick argued. "You need to get your shit together and stop making such dumb mistakes. You may be a lucky bastard, but even _your_ luck won't last forever."

Nick tried to think of anything to say, but his mind drew a blank. Finnick was right, his dumb mistake had nearly gotten them all killed and nothing he said was going to change that.

"As much as I'd like to tear into you some more, we need to get moving." Finnick continued. "Even if he was tracking us, Dante probably only had time to bring in a pawful of his muscle. After everything that's happened, there's no way he hasn't called in the rest." He picked up the broken transponder off the deck and flicked it into the ocean before climbing up onto the front seat and grabbing the steering wheel.

"The engine should be good now, we're gonna have to take it slow, but we should be able to safely make it back to Port Breelu without running into that striped asshole or any of his pals.

"Yeah...right, we'll need to lay low for a few days after this. He'll be searching far and wide for us after this mess," Nick added. "Will give me some time to gather up everything we've got on Henosia, at least."

"Woah, woah, woah there, Kid," Finnick turned back to look at the younger fox. "Did you say _Henosia_?"

Nick waved his partner off, "Later Gramps, we'll talk once we've made it back to the port."

"You're damn right we'll talk." With that, the desert fox turned his attention back to piloting the boat.

Nick glanced over at the rabbit. She was staring out at the water, having been eerily silent ever since Finnick gave her the camera.

"Listen, Judy, about what happened back there..."

"Don't talk to me, Nick!" she snapped at the fox.

Nick was taken aback by her lashing out like that but didn't say anything. She had every right to be angry after the mess he'd gotten her into.

She looked surprised at her own outburst, shaking her head and trying to speak more calmly. "I just...now that I actually have a moment to think, I need to process what just happened and cool off. There was a lot of messed up stuff back there and you were the cause of a lot of it..." She kept her gaze focused out on the water as she continued. "We can talk again when I'm ready. Right now though...the sound of your voice kinda makes me want to kick your muzzle in."

Nick gulped and nervously nodded before moving over to sit down on the other side of the boat. When he reached the point where he'd be able to look back on these events, this probably wouldn't end up being one of his prouder moments.

The fox looked down at the rushing water as the boat struggled on across the ocean, finally taking a moment to tally the situation. Escaping those mercenaries had been exhausting enough, but it was beginning to look like his problems had only just started. Sure, they had found a big lead and managed to give their enemies the slip, but that didn't change one rather troubling fact. Dante was in play now, and knowing that zebra, he probably was going to bring a lot of firepower to bear.

_Take it one step at a time, Wilde._ He told himself. _Starting with your pissed off partners..._

He glanced over at Judy and Finnick. Neither of them looked his way, his mentor focused on driving the boat while the reporter was still staring out at the ocean.

_Gramps will be alright, fiery temper aside, he's always got my back. But Judy..._

He let out a weary sigh.

_Mam, I am NOT looking forward to that chat..._


	6. Differing Priorities

_Author Note: Hey again all! Hope you're all doing well and keeping safe amidst all the craziness going on right now! Anyways, it's that time of the week again, so here's the next chapter, bringing me yet another step closer to getting the whole thing up on FFN. Enjoy!_

* * *

Port Breelu…

It definitely wasn't what one would call the pinnacle of mammalian society. Dirty, overcrowded, squalid, few mammals lived here by choice. Most of the city's residents were either born there or forced to live there by circumstance. It was a hard place to make an honest living, that was for sure.

Such a city would not be the kind to inspire hope, awe, or even a sense of security in the average mammal, that wasn't the case for Nick, Judy, and Finnick though. After the day they had, Port Breelu was practically a shining beacon of salvation for them as their boat, barely holding together, lurched into the city waters.

Finnick had managed to do a pretty decent job getting the bullet-riddled wreck to port despite only having a single barely functional motor to work with, but the desert fox was no miracle worker. When the motor finally died on them, they had fallen just short of the port itself and the old fox had to let the boat drift the rest of the way until it finally bumped unceremoniously against the wooden moorings of the docks.

Now that they had finally made it to the relative safety of the city, the three mammals stepped onto the dock proper. Having spent the last several hours focused on just making it back in one piece, this was the first time they had a chance to actually asses how severe the damage really was.

As bad as it had seemed after their escape from Dante and Cackler, it turned out the boat had taken an even worse beating than they thought, reduced to a mess of twisted and bullet-riddled metal, smoke still coming off from the dead motor and shredded electronics. Several leaks had sprung during their slow crawl back to port and it was all they could do to patch them up before the boat sunk below the waves and took them down with it. The quick patch job had been enough, but only barely. Given the condition it was currently in, it would be nothing short of a miracle if the boat managed to stay afloat to the end of the day.

"I'm not getting my deposit back...am I?" Judy asked despondently, her ears flat against her back.

Fate seemed to mock the rabbit's question as the patchwork repairs failed and a massive leak sprung. Water rushed in and filled up the frame of the boat as it finally relented and slowly sunk to the bottom of the dock, it's mangled frame fading as it disappeared into the murky darkness below.

"No…" Nick responded, his ears flat against his skull and tail awkwardly sunk low to the ground, "probably not…"

"Cheese and crackers...my boss is going to kill me…"

"I'll admit we've hit a bit of a hitch…" Nick said hesitantly. "But just have some faith, Fluff, when we find that city, it will more than make up for all these...unexpected incidents…"

The reporter didn't respond, just staring blankly at the churning and bubbling water where the boat had been.

Giving the bunny some time to herself to sort through the shock, Nick diverted his attention to more immediate matters.

"Alright, Gramps, we're gonna need to find a safe place to set up shop for the next few days," Nick said to his partner. "I'll gather up the rest of the stored research, both Dante's and anything we have on Henosia, then we can lay low for a bit, learn what we can, and prepare ourselves until we're ready to set out and find it. You said you knew a guy around here who could set us up with a decent safehouse, right? What was his name? Carapus? Caprisus?"

"Capras, and yeah, he can set us up," Finnick answered, a hesitant look on his face. "But I think we've got a bit of problem…"

"Oh?" the red fox asked, "Think you see one of Dante and Cackler's goons?"

"No...the bunny's bailing..."

"What?" The treasure hunter turned around and saw Judy at the other end of the dock, walking into the busy streets of the city.

"Uhh, Carrots?" Nick called out. "Where are you going?"

The reporter didn't answer, continuing to move away at an alarmingly fast pace.

"Hey! Judy! Where are you going?"

"Probably heading for the first bus outta town, Kid," Finnick said.

"Dammit," Nick cursed as he started running after her.

"Judy! Wait! Come on! Just hear me out!" he called after her, not that she'd likely stop even if she did hear him.

As he made it off the dock and began to close the distance with the rabbit, a sheep with trimmed black wool and a tie-dyed multi-colour t-shirt stepped into his path, forcing Nick to make an abrupt stop.

_Great, just what I need, some speciesist asshole looking to play hero… _

The sheep thrust a hoof in his direction and Nick prepared himself for the incoming blow, only to realize that instead of attacking him, the mammal was holding something out for the fox in his hoof. Taking a second glance, he realized it was a pair of shades.

"You! Fox!" the ram shouted enthusiastically. "You no good like that out in daylight! You buy my glasses!" He waved the shades right in Nick's muzzle.

_Crap...it's even worse than I thought, _Nick silently lamented, noticing a nearby stand and an assortment of various touristy trinkets and memorabilia sitting on top of it. _A street vendor… _

"Hey, Wools, you mind moving?" Nick tried to step around the sheep. "You're kind of in my way."

The vendor, clearly practiced in dealing with reluctant customers, managed to stick with Nick as he tried to slip past, blocking the fox from slipping past and into the city.

"No, not wool," the sheep shook his head. "Glasses!"

He waved the sunglasses in Nick's face again. "Sun bad for fox, yes? Hurt your eyes! Glasses help! Very cheap, only fifty pestas, special price!"

"Seriously! Get out of the way!" Nick said, his voice starting to rise as he kept trying, and failing to get around the persistent vendor.

"Glasses!" the ram excitedly pointed at the pair of shades. "You buy! You buy!"

"Alright, fine! You win!" Nick growled in frustration, pulling out his money and throwing it right into the surprised ungulates face. "Take it! Take it all! Just leave me alone!"

As the vendor recovered and started frantically grabbing at the money now fluttering through the air, the fox took his chance and blew right past him into the city.

The streets of Port Breelu were a disorganized mess with mammals heading in every direction. The rules of these streets were simple: might makes right, the larger mammals went where they wanted and the smaller ones had to just stay out of the way, it wasn't like what little law enforcement there was cared enough to do anything if some random idiot ended up getting trampled. Being on the smaller side of the scale, Nick's work was cut out for him as he was forced to try and find Judy while navigating the crowds, dodging out of the way of larger mammals.

Not making any progress, Nick decided to switch tactics, trying to focus on the rabbit's scent. He was quickly overwhelmed as the collective scents of the city and the mass of mammals within it slammed into him. He tried to narrow his focus down to Judy's scent, only for his concentration to be shattered by the honking of a motorized passenger trike as it headed straight for him. He quickly sidestepped the vehicle as it passed, the oryx driver shouting all manner of colourful obscenities at him as he drove by.

_Alright, forget that plan,_ Nick decided, _not gonna be able to pick out the scent of a rabbit I barely know through that many mammals anyways, at least not without getting flattened in the process..._

The fox began pushing his way through the busy streets again, his eyes darting in all directions as he looked for any sign of the rabbit.

"This isn't working!" Nick mumbled to himself in frustration. "Might as well be looking for a needle in a haystack, at least then I probably wouldn't be trampled."

_Wait a minute_, a thought came to Nick. _She wouldn't want to get trampled either, that means..._

Realizing she'd probably stick to safer parts of the street, the fox focused his attention on areas where there were no large mammals. It wasn't long before he managed to pick out a pair of grey ears with black tips just barely poking out from a crowd on the side of the street. He could see the ears moving past a number of vendor stalls, briefly seeing the bunny herself as she finally turned off the street and headed down a side alley.

Realizing that she would be able to move a lot faster in the less crowded alleys and that trying to navigate the crowd would take too long, Nick instead darted to the side of the street and climbed up onto one of the vendor stands. He quickly started running towards the alley, hopping from one stand to the next, disturbing customers and occasionally knocking over merchandise as he went and being yelled at or swatted at by furious merchants.

"Sorry fellas!" he shouted as his foot grazed some glassware, causing the whole set to fall and shatter on the ground.

"Coming through!" he dodged out of the way of a particularly angry caracal vendor who tried to grab him, having been quite agitated by the disruption Nick was causing his business.

"Got a bunny to catch," he leaped off the last stand and on to the ground while an elephant vendor yelled at him in some language he couldn't understand. Given how furiously the words were being shouted at him, he was going to go ahead and assume it wasn't anything flattering. The fox responded with a half-hearted wave of his paw before turning off the street and into the alleyway.

Some nearby mammals briefly looked over to see what the commotion was, only to lose interest and go back to what they were doing when all they saw was a single fox entering the alleyway and the shouting of angry street vendors. Like most of the rest of the city, the alley was pretty run down, the pavement lined with cracks and rubble that indicated how unreliable whatever passed for maintenance crews were in this city. Fortunately, it wasn't nearly as crowded as the street Nick had just left with most of the mammals huddled in small groups and keeping largely to themselves, doing whatever it was mammals did when they didn't want to be disturbed.

Looking up and down the alley, Nick was relieved to see the reporter was still there, walking towards a bus terminal just a few blocks ahead.

"Judy, wait! Seriously, just hear me out!"

The rabbit kept pressing forward, not even acknowledging him.

Since shouting at her wasn't getting him anywhere, Nick decided to just throw caution to the wind and grab for her arm.

"Let go of me!" she lashed out, trying to spin around and knock him back with her free paw.

Ready for her, Nick blocked the incoming strike and restrained her other arm. "What the hell are you doing, bunny?"

"What do you think? I'm getting as far away from you and this whole mess as I possibly can!"

"Seriously, Fluff? Come on, you're tougher than that, I know that for a fact after all that ass kicking back at the temple! You can't just up and bail because things get a bit hairy."

"A _bit hairy?_ A _bit_ _hairy_?!" the reporter shouted. "A broken engine is a _bit hairy_, bringing the wrong map is a_ bit_ _hairy._ Blowing up temples?! Getting shot at by armed killers for hire?! Those are something else entirely!"

"Okay, fair enough…" Nick conceded.

"No, not fair!" Judy said, angrily stomping her foot on the ground. "Not even close to fair! You lied to me, Nick! You lied and you nearly got us all killed, and you got a whole bunch of other mammals killed, you...no good...two-bit...liar!" Evidently, the bunny had a hard time thinking straight or coming up with appropriate insults when she was angry.

Once Nick was certain the rabbit was finished venting and that he wasn't about to get a foot to the muzzle, he released his grip on her, "Okay, first of all, don't bother with the insulting nicknames when you're angry, because that was just embarrassing. And secondly, those mammals were ruthless killers, they won't be missed. You said you wanted to make the world a better place? Well, guess what? The world's a slightly better place now that there's a few less of those trigger happy psychos in it."

"Was any of that supposed to make me feel better?" Judy asked, calmer than before but still undoubtedly angry. "Because unlike you, I'm not the kind of mammal who can look at the deaths of others and the loss of historical knowledge as a positive..."

"Was it supposed to make you feel better?" Nick asked rhetorically. "No, not really, but it's calmed you down a bit, right?"

The doe let out an irritated sigh, "And you think I'll change my mind just because I'm a bit calmer, now?"

"No, but I'm guessing you'll at least give me a chance to make my case," Nick replied. "Back on the boat, you said we could talk, so let's talk."

Judy looked like she was about to object but before she could say anything, Nick raised a paw to interrupt her, "No tricks, Carrots, promise. All you gotta do is listen to what I have to say, then you can go ahead do whatever your little bunny heart desires."

Judy fixed her eyes on him, paws at her hips and foot tapping as she considered his request. He had to struggle not to wince at her furious gaze and found himself hoping that this wouldn't end with her punching or kicking him in the face again, he'd already had the displeasure of experiencing her bun fu furry on two separate occasions, and he wasn't in the mood for a third.

"Alright, we can talk," she finally decided. "First, you need to tell me what really happened. Was Dante telling the truth? Did you steal from him?"

Nick shifted uncomfortably, "It's a bit more complicated than that…"

"Yes or no, Nick?"

"...Yes…"

"Why?"

Nick gulped, this was an awkward subject for him to talk about. He just hoped he could find a way to answer her without getting too personal. "He was going to rip me off, I just beat him to the punch."

The rabbit raised a curious eyebrow, "What do you mean 'rip you off?' That research was _his_ to do with as he wished."

"Come on, Fluff, don't be so naive, you met the guy," Nick huffed. "Do you really think he 'acquired' that research through fair and legitimate means? I mean, I know businessmammals can be pretty sketchy in the 'civilized' world, but even they don't go around with their own private armies."

Judy paused in thought as she considered the fox's point.

"Besides, he had no hope of finding that temple without me," Nick continued. "He had no idea what to make of that research, I did, that's why I was working with him. Without me, that research would've amounted to nothing more than a bunch of glorified paperweights and fire kindling for all the good it would do!"

"Okay fine, so he hired you to make sense of the research he had collected, that still doesn't give you the right to just steal it from him," Judy pointed out. " And it doesn't matter how he acquired it, two wrongs don't make a right.\\!"

"You and I have very different views of the world if you seriously believe that," Nick said, rolling his eyes.

"Stop dodging, Nick, you still haven't told me how you knew he was going to rip you off," the reporter pressed.

"I'm getting to that, Fluff, if you'd let me," Nick snapped at the bunny. "I knew because the research he had me working on didn't add up."

"Didn't add up?" Judy questioned. "Come on Nick, being vague about the issue is hardly an improvement over dodging it! Tell me what you mean!"

"I mean Dante doesn't care about some random temple out in the middle of nowhere," Nick explained. "He wouldn't consider something like that or Sir Francis' expedition worth his time, not unless they were connected to something far more valuable."

"You think he hid some research from you?" Judy guessed.

"I don't think he did, I _know _he did," Nick paused. "Or...at least...I knew after I broke into his office and found the rest of Sir Francis' notes."

Admitting to breaking into Dante's office didn't seem to win him any points if the unimpressed look on the lapine reporter face was any indication. "Notes that he kept hidden from me so I was totally justified in breaking in, by the way!" he quickly tried to clarify.

When the rabbit's expression didn't change, he awkwardly cleared his throat and continued.

"The notes were understandably vague, Wilde had almost as many trust issues as Dante, but they were pretty clear that there was more to this expedition than just that temple. " Nick was forced to push the bitterness out of his voice as this conversation brought back some unpleasant memories of past interactions with the zebra that he'd prefer remained forgotten.

Judy's eyes widened and her ears shot up as she realized what Nick was referring to. "Back at the temple...you mentioned Henosia …"

"Exactly, Fluff. That 'find of the century' I told you about, that's what he was interested in. I don't know if he knew about the city, itself, but he definitely knew there was something valuable, he wouldn't have hired that many mercenaries if it was just some small time score. I mean come on, he bugged my freaking gear on the off chance I would figure out what he was up to and go after it myself." Nick paused as he reflected on the irony of that statement, "Okay...maybe he ended up being right about that last part, but still, it proves that this was always about way more than Wilde and one isolated temple."

"So that's why you stole Dante's research?" Judy asked. "You realized he was on to something bigger and figured he was going to cut you out?"

"Exactly, Carrots," Nick nodded. "Once I figured out where that temple was, I 'borrowed' the rest of the research, got in touch with Gramps, and then we set off to find it before Dante could figure what we were up to. That's why we reached out to you, your producer had the means to fund us and get what we needed, and you'd get a good story for the _Animalia Explorer_, seemed like a win-win. Would've been a pretty good plan...if I didn't underestimate just how paranoid that damn zebra was..."

"And what did Finnick think of all this?" Judy asked.

"He was skeptical about the temple actually leading us to anything bigger," Nick explained. "But he figured that at the very least, the temple itself would make for a decent payday."

The reporter looked down at the ground in front of the fox, considering his side of the story. Nick had made his case to the rabbit, now all he could do was hope that would be enough to convince her to stay on.

Unfortunately, those hopes were quickly dashed when it became apparent that she had different priorities than he did.

"Nope, nope, doesn't matter, this is insane," Judy said, shaking her head. "Temples are blowing up, mammals are shooting at us, and all over some treasure, this is not the sort of thing worth dying over."

"_Some treasure_?" Nick asked in disbelief. "Are those ears of yours not working or something? What part of 'find of the century' do you _not _understand?"

"I heard you just fine, but that's not what this is really about, you're hiding something," the rabbit accused. "There's something else going on between you and Dante, I have no idea what, but I need somebody I can trust on a job like this. How am I supposed to trust you after everything you've pulled so far? I mean come on, you can't even be honest with me about why you're doing this!"

That managed to catch Nick off guard, that rabbit was too observant for her own good, or his, for that matter.

"I...can't get into it...," he said, "it's personal."

"I'm sorry Nick, but 'personal' doesn't cut it!" the rabbit yelled. "Not when it involves something so valuable that mammals are willing to kill us to get their paws on it! Your lies and schemes nearly got us killed once already, and I'm not about to give you a chance to make that mistake again!"

"Hey, I got us out alive, didn't I, Fluff? Doesn't that give me _some_ credit?"

"Fixing a problem of _your_ making doesn't entitle you to anything, Wilde," Judy spat at the fox. "A problem you haven't really fixed by the way given that Dante is still out there and _still_ wants us dead!"

"Look, mistakes were made, but we turned out alright and now we can score big," Nick tried to reason. "Think about it, you clearly see some sort of benefit to working with me. You knew what I found back in the temple and could've easily sold me out to Dante and Cackler, but you didn't. You knew there was more to be gained by siding with me, and that still hasn't changed."

"Wow..." Judy said, an offended look in her eyes. "You must really think little of me if you thought _that_ was why I sided with you. The reason I didn't sell you out to Dante was that Dante's crazy. You may be a liar and a thief, but you and Finnick didn't deserve whatever gruesome fate that zebra had in mind for you two. Don't think for a _minute_ it was because I thought was more to be gained by working with you! I don't put a price on the lives of mammals, which is more than can be said about you!"

The fox was stunned, it really was quite impressive how this little bunny could make him feel so small. Although having the moral high ground did tend to make that way easier.

"Now tell me, Nick," Judy demanded. "What reason could I possibly have to work with you when you've given me no indication that you even deserve my trust? Especially when it's somebody who won't even tell me the real reason behind why we're doing this?"

Nick struggled to come up with an answer, but he couldn't. The truth would've sounded petty and insane, if anything, it'd probably cause her to bail even faster. Instead, he just stood there, silent and still, feeling like a complete idiot as the tension only got thicker.

The reporter just shook her head, the silence telling her everything. "I didn't think so, goodbye Nick," she turned around and started walking down the alley towards the bus station.

Instead of saying anything, Nick looked down at the ring strung around his neck. Gripping it in his paw, he rubbed it and read the inscription, _'Sic Parvis Magna'_. For not the first time, he found himself reflecting on the phrases meaning as well as the various circumstances and choices that had led him to this life, it was something he found himself doing way more often than he'd like. A war of conflicting thoughts was now raging in his head as he struggled to decide whether he was done trying to convince the bunny to stay or not.

**_Just let her leave, Gramps and I can do this without her. We'll just have to find another way to scrounge up the money to get to Henosia._**

_It's not right, _he shook his head._ She's a good mammal, she doesn't deserve to be screwed over like this._

**_Pretty harsh words for a 'good' mammal._**

_Hey, she was right to be furious after the stunt I pulled. Hell, if I was in her place, I'd probably be pretty pissed too._

**_She wants nothing to do with this, she said it herself. Besides, no honour among thieves, right? _**

_She's a reporter, not a thief, and that was always a cop-out excuse anyway. Besides, would Sir Francis stoop to that level? _

**_Sir Francis is dead, he's been dead for hundreds of years. Does his view on the situation really matter?_**

_Yes..._

_...dammit, I can't just let her go._

His mind made up, Nick realized he had to make one final pitch if he was going to convince her to stay. With no clue what to say, the fox decided to wing it and blurted out the first thought that entered his head.

"I'm the only chance you've got!"

That stopped the doe dead in her tracks.

"Dante was right, wasn't he?" Nick continued, seizing on the opportunity. "Your producer was gonna fire you if this job was a bust, that's why you were so quick to agree to partner up, right?"

Judy turned around, "Yes, things were bleak for me, but that doesn't change anything, not enough to work with you after the stunt you pulled!" Her voice was firm, but her posture suggested otherwise, the slight shaking of her legs and the uncertainty in her eyes showing how anxious she was.

"I may be a thief, but I'm not Dante," Nick pressed, "I've done some questionable things in my life, I mean what thief hasn't, right? But I've never screwed over a good mammal." He pointed at the rabbit, "I may not have known you for very long, but I can tell that you're a good mammal, one that wants to do what's right, even if you do have some possible unresolved biases against foxes…"

The rabbit shot him a nasty glare at that last comment.

_Uh oh, getting too personal, Nick! Abort! Abort!_

"Uhh, but hey, I'm not your psychologist," Nick dodged, trying not to antagonize the bunny further. "So let's just blow past that and get to the point."

Relieved that he hadn't managed to drive the bunny off yet, he went in for his final pitch.

_Gods, I wish I was better at this._

"I get that you don't trust me, nothing I say now will change that." Nick stepped towards the bunny. "But it doesn't take a genius to realize that you want to help improve the world in any way you can, be it helping those in trouble, or helping mammalkind to better understand their past. If your boss fires you, that's it, you might as well go back to your parents at the carrot farm in Podunk or whatever backwater you came from. This score can turn all of that around, it's the best chance you're gonna have in a long time. Think about the knowledge you'd be able to share with mammalkind, not to mention the good that could be done with your share of the treasure."

"You have a chance to make a real difference here," He held out a paw to the rabbit, "So don't you owe it to yourself to try? Even though you could fail?"

There was an uncomfortable silence as Judy started at Nick's outstretched paw. The fox could see the gears turning in the bunny's head as she considered whether she was willing to take such a big risk.

"Oh, oh, oh...try...everything?" He awkwardly sang for reasons he couldn't really understand. Maybe it was just some idiotic way of helping to lighten the mood.

Waiting in silent anticipation as the rabbit just stared at him, he let out an internal sigh of relief when she finally grabbed his paw and shook it.

"I seriously can't believe you just used Gazelle lyrics against me like that..." Judy muttered in disbelief.

"And I can't believe that actually worked," Nick said. "I mean I was pretty much firing blindly at that point!"

"No kidding..." the rabbit said. "How did you know I loved Gazelle, anyway?"

"Well, that was the only reason I could think of for you do something as bizarre as including it in that bit you did on the sacrificial altars of Cugna Paco," Nick smirked. "I know she says to 'try everything' and all, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't meant to include mammal sacrifice."

A shocked and embarrassed look appeared on the bunny's face, "I hadn't realized you watched that..."

"Hey, had to learn what I could about my mark-" the rabbit shot a piercing glare that quickly had the fox scrambling to correct himself. "Uhhh, partner! I meant partner!"

The bunny shook her head, "Alright, Nick, you win, I'll help you find Henosia."

The vulpine suddenly felt the rabbit's finger jab into his chest. "But don't think for a _minute,_ that means I trust you. Not after everything you've pulled."

Nick winced a little, "Fair enough, guess I've gotta earn that one…"

Judy opened her mouth to respond, only to close it again, tilting her head as she shifted her gaze past Nick to something behind him.

"Finn?"

Nick turned around to see his diminutive partner standing behind them in the alleyway.

"Gramps! Buddy! You finally made it!" the fox threw his arms out in a welcoming gesture that was only _slightly_ mocking. "What kept, you?"

"You mean apart from trying to catch up to you guys without getting trampled by that godsdamn stampede back there?" Finnick replied, jabbing a thumb behind him at the busy street. "Well, after you two ran off, the harbormaster came by and gave me a verbal ass kicking for 'dumping' our boat at the bottom of the docks, most pissed off looking otter I've ever seen, and that includes the time Fisher's wife caught him stepping out with those two sows he was seeing on the side, oh mam was that a mess."

"Focus, Gramps," Nick interrupted. "Carrots has no idea who those mammals are and I doubt she's in the mood for another one of your stories."

"Huh? Oh right," Finnick shook his head. "Well, the harbourmaster not so much insisted as demanded that we pay for the damage to the dock and the costs of getting the wreck out. Thanks for leaving me to clean that mess up, by the way, I'm sure you guys would've been able to help me out no problem if he called the cops or something…"

"Sorry," Judy said, embarrassedly rubbing her paws together, "Kinda needed to figure things out..."

Finnick waved her apology off, "Nah, don't worry yourself over it, bunny, everybody freaks out the first time a bunch of mammals try to kill 'em, at least if they ain't psychos. You know, you actually handled yourself better than most, few bunnies I know that could slap those idiots around the way you did."

Judy couldn't help but blush at the compliment. Seeing her embarrassment, a smirk crawled onto Nick's muzzle, only to disappear when Finnick shot him a deadly glare.

"You, on the other paw..." the older fox started.

Nick raised his paws in defence, "Hey! Hey! Easy there, partner, somebody had to make sure she was alright."

Finnick merely folded his arms, looking unimpressed.

"Anyways," Nick awkwardly coughed, "How'd you get the harbourmaster off your tail?"

"Had to give him all the money I had on me just to get him to shut up," Finnick shrugged.

"Ohh…"

"Yeah," Finnick shook his head, "this little 'project' of yours is leaving us pretty deep in the pit. I thought you said we were supposed to be _making_ money off of this."

"I'm working on it..." Nick said. "Managed to convince Fluff to stick around, pretty good, no?"

"Yeah, yeah, you're the next _Manedela_," Finnick rolled his eyes and started walking down the alleyway. "I'll be impressed when we actually have something to show for all this shit. Now come on you two, think it's time to pump the brakes on the couples therapy before we draw even _more_ attention."

"What attention? We didn't attract any..." Nick stopped midsentence as he looked around and noticed all the mammals in the alleyway that were staring at them. Apparently, he and Judy had made far more of a scene then he had thought.

"Oh...yeah...maybe it _is_ about time we made ourselves scarce," Nick said as he and Judy followed Finnick down the alley.

"There's a motel 20 minutes from here," Finnick explained. "One of Capra's rooms, a bit on the expensive side, but as long as he gets paid, we shouldn't have to worry about Dante and Cackler or any of their goons finding us unless we do something _really _stupid."

"Great," Nick said. "We can lay low a few days, gather up what we need, and then we'll be all set to find Henosia."

"I'll need to call my boss," Judy said. "Gonna need to let him know what we found. Just hoping he's not too upset about the temple...or the boat…"

"Don't worry, Carrots, surely a story on one of the greatest archaeological finds in mammalian history should be more than enough to keep him satisfied...or at the least keep him from getting out the skinning knives," Nick said.

"Oh gee, thanks for the comforting words, Nick, " Judy said, rolling her eyes as she and the fox started to follow Finnick to the motel.

Nick stopped as he reached into his satchel and realized something. "Oh, uhh...by the way, Fluff," Nick started, looking back at Judy.

"Hmm?"

"You're gonna have to pay for the room…"

The rabbit stopped dead in her tracks, "...What?"

"It's just that…" Nick began, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "I kinda threw all my money at some guy back at the docks...and with Finnick having to pay off the harbourmaster...we're kinda broke at the moment…"

Judy just stared at Nick with an irritated scowl fixed on her face.

"I mean, hey," the fox awkwardly shrugged, an even more awkward grin on his muzzle, "you're handling the funding, right? So what do ya say? You good to foot the bill...partner?"

The doe let out a frustrated sigh and shook her head. "Let's just get to the motel..."


	7. Getting Up to Speed

_Author Note: Time for the next update. This one's a bit on the exposition heavy side (kinda inevitable with most treasure hunting stories), but I'm hoping I managed to fit in enough character moments and fun bits to keep things interesting. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy it!_

* * *

"No, you're not listening to me, we _did _find something! The location of a lost ancient city, how is that not a huge deal?"

Nick was sitting on an uncomfortably stiff bed mattress, watching Judy as she talked with her producer on the phone. As soon as they had arrived at the motel room, she had called in to give him an update on the expedition and what they had found. Off to the side, Finnick was rifling through a nearby cabinet in search of gods knows what.

The room itself was nothing special, just a pair of beds with dull tan sheets, a couple of cabinets, and a large wooden table with accompanying chairs. Not the most lavish of living places, but it would suit their purposes just fine while they lay low and got ready for the next step in their journey.

As the fox shifted uncomfortably on the beds, it occurred to him how difficult it was going to be to get any real sleep on these mattresses. Not that it mattered much to Nick personally, somebody was going to have to sleep on the floor and he was pretty certain that somebody would be him given how less than pleased both of his partners were with his previous actions. He'd manage well enough though, the motel floor still made for a better resting surface than some of the places he had been forced to sleep over the course of his treasure hunting career, a lot safer too given that he wouldn't have to worry about mammals trying to get the jump on him if this place was indeed as secure as Finnick had claimed.

For now, though, Nick was content enough to just try and garner what he could from the reporter's conversation with the producer, even if all he could make out of the other side of the call was incomprehensible chatter. If nothing else, it made for an interesting little game to pass the time as he tried to what was being discussed through the tone of the chatter and Judy's reactions.

"Well...we don't have any actual proof it exists yet..." Judy spoke into the phone. "But we're certain that's where Sir Francis Wilde was headed next."

Even though Nick couldn't tell what the response was, the rising inflection he heard lead him to assume the producer was asking a question.

"The temple?" Judy's ears wilted a bit and she started to appear more anxious, the producer probably wasn't going to like her answer. "Well, it...uhh...kinda blew up…"

The rabbit winced as the chatter rose in volume and became more furious in tone.

"Well, I wasn't the one who blew it up!" Judy tried to explain. "That place was littered with unstable centuries old gunpowder, it was a literal powder keg waiting to go off!"

The chatter seemed to die down in volume and tone again with the producer presumably asking a follow-up question.

"The boat?" there was a resurgence in anxiousness on the bunny's face as she prepared to give an answer the producer definitely was not going to like. "Well, it...got shot up...and sank…"

This time Judy physically flinched away from the phone as it practically erupted in furious chatter.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure we're covered for the damage," Judy said, trying to calm the mammal on the other end down. "That's what insurance is for, right?"

Given that the response from the producer didn't sound any less furious than before, Nick assumed that wasn't the case. Not really surprising given that most insurance companies didn't really offer plans that covered bullet holes.

"Oh…" the rabbit said in a discouraged tone. Her ears going limp against the back of her head.

Whatever the producer asked next, it seemed to improve Judy's mood, or at least gave her an opportunity to calm him down a bit.

"Oh, the camera? No, don't worry about the camera, it's...fine..." she said, grabbing the Pandasonic and looking at the dent Finnick had made with it. "Good as new...more or less... and tons of footage to work with, got tons of nice shots of the temple both inside and out!"

The voice on the other end of the phone seemed to calm down a bit as they continued to grill the rabbit for details.

"There's probably enough for at least three episodes, but how does that-" she was cut off as the producer spoke up again. The next thing they said caused the rabbit's ears to shoot back up in alarm, "What?! No, we can't just cut our losses and leave! Not when we've got a lead on what could be one of the biggest finds of the decade!"

Judging by the annoyed look on the reporter's face, Nick guessed that the producer was unconvinced. "I know we're over budget, but don't you get it? This could be the biggest story the Explorer has ever had! A long lost ancient city! Think of all we could learn if we found it! All the lost history we could recover! How is that not worth some extra funding?"

The voice on the other side spoke up again, whatever they said caused Judy's face to harden with resolve. Nick hadn't known the bunny for long, but he had already seen that look enough times to realize that one way or another, she was going to force that producer to see things her way.

_Such a ferocious little_ _bunny_, Nick silently observed. A_nd you went and pissed her off. Nicely done, Wilde…_

"No! It has to be now! We're not the only ones looking for this place, and from what I've seen, the competition has no interest in sharing whatever they find." The bunny's nose was rapidly twitching in agitation and given the fierce determination on her face, Nick wouldn't be surprised if that glare of hers ended up burning a hole in the wall. "If we back out and these other guys find it then that window of opportunity is gone forever! Not only do we lose the story, but all the knowledge and history that comes with it! Are you seriously willing to let that all slip away just because we're a bit over budget?"

There was another response, but it didn't seem to discourage the rabbit.

"We're the closest and we have the location, believe me, we're the best ones for this job. Just give me another shot at this, I promise I won't let you down."

The phone erupted in more chatter as the producer made their final decision and Judy nodded along with an occasional response.

"Uh huh…"

"Okay…"

"I see…"

Fair enough…"

"Alright…"

"I'll get on it..."

"Goodbye, Mr. Dewson."

The rabbit hung up the phone and slumped down in a nearby chair.

"So?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

"Well, I'm not fired yet…" Judy started.

"Does that mean…"

"Yes, Nick," Judy sighed. "Looks like my fate is in your paws now…"

"Splendid," Nick said. "This'll go way better than last time. I promise you won't regret it!"

"I sure hope not, I'm putting a lot on the line by vouching for you." Despite how weary she looked, she couldn't help but brighten up now that she had a chance to turn things around. "Despite all of that, the idea of possibly discovering a lost ancient city...this could be a once in a lifetime experience!"

"That's the spirit, focus on the positives!" Nick hopped off the bed and clapped his paws together. "And with that, I think it's about time I headed out and picked up the rest of the research. You wait here, I'll be back-"

"Not so fast," the rabbit interrupted, moving to block his path. "You still owe me some answers. If I'm going to help you, then I need to know what I'm getting into, what I'm _really _getting into."

"Fair enough," Nick nodded. "Ask away."

"Alright, then for starters, just who is this Dante character?" Judy asked. "I need to know what kind of mammal we're dealing with."

"Dante? Nick hesitated, not entirely eager to discuss the subject. "Well, he's…"

"A real piece of shit, that's what." Finnick cut in, having set himself down in one of the chairs at the table.

"I managed to gather that much on my own, thank you," Judy said. "I mean what do you know about him? Where does he come from? What exactly does he do? I know you won't tell me about whatever happened between you two, but I still need to know what to expect from this guy if we run into him again."

"Alright, then let me start from the beginning," Nick answered. "He's from Zootopia, a self-made mammal, he claims. Technically, he'd be telling the truth, he just won't mention all the shady things he did to get there."

"And you're the very definition of an honourable mammal with fine and upstanding morals, right?" Judy rolled her eyes.

"You wound me, Fluff," Nick feigned offence. "But really, Gramps and I may get our paws dirty on occasion, I mean treasure hunting is hardly the cleanest line of work, but this guy is something else entirely."

"How so?"

"Well, he was nothing special in his youth," Nick explained. "Just a child from a working-class family of no real note, but he was a real pro at befriending and manipulating other mammals. When he was a kid, he joined the Junior Explorer's League and befriended a bunch of other prey with very well off parents. Managed to get in nice and cozy with the group from that point onward. When they were old enough for their trust funds to kick in, he convinced them to use their money to partner up with him and put together a 'salvage' company."

"Salvage company?" Judy tilted her head curiously. "He convinced them to go in on him...with a salvage company?"

"Well...that's what it was 'legally speaking,'" Nick tried to clarify. "Their focus was on the 'acquisition' of historical artifacts. Didn't have a very good track record though since many of those artifacts wound up 'disappearing' under highly suspect circumstances."

"Meaning they were stealing and selling them on the black market," the reporter pieced together.

"Aren't you a sly little bunny, " Nick smirked. "I knew you were worth keeping around."

His smirk quickly vanished though as the bunny threw him a harsh glare.

"Don't take it personally, bunny," Finnick said, pouring a bottle full of clear liquid into a tumbler glass he held in his paw. "He does think you're smart, wouldn't have chased you through that stampede of mammals on the street if he didn't. Kid just can't help but come off as an ass in everything he does."

_Wait...this room doesn't have a mini-bar, _Nick thought, eyeing Finnick's drink in confusion. _Where the hell did he even find that stuff?_

The desert fox chugged the liquid contents of the glass down in one gulp, shaking his head with a grunt. "Anyways," he began, continuing the story for Nick, "his friends may have been the ones with the money, but everyone knew Dante was the one pulling the strings. The only one with any drive or clue what he was doing. Liked it that way too, he was good at getting what he wanted from the others while making them think it's what they wanted. Guess that comes with being spoiled brats used to having everything done for them, willing to just go along and let somebody else make all the choices for them while thinking it was somehow their idea."

"It certainly didn't do anything to help them stay alive given how they all disappeared during one of the 'salvage' jobs," Nick commented, "and ownership of the entire company fell to Dante. Ended up with all their money to, funnily enough, was quite a _massive _stroke of luck."

"Wait…" Judy paused, her eyes widening in shock. "You're not suggesting he…"

"The actual details are pretty murky," Nick explained. "Officially, they're all listed as 'missing.'"

"And...unofficially?" Judy pressed.

"Well you got to see just what kind of mammal he is, rabbit," Finnick said, pouring himself another glass from the liquor bottle. "Go ahead, take a wild guess…"

"Cheese and crackers…"

"This guy is bad news, Fluff," Nick continued. He's ruthless, and paranoid, always has been. But it's only gotten worse since he made his partners disappear. I mean, I always knew he was an asshole, learned that personally, but I figured the stories about him and the things he's done were exaggerated. It wasn't until I started working with him and saw just how he conducts his 'business' that I realized just how spot on those stories really are."

Nick took a heavy sigh. Talking about Dante always turned out to be such an exhausting affair.

"When I found that hidden research about Henosia, I knew I had to bail before I ended up like the mammals in those stories. Best case scenario, he'd have marooned me on some deserted island in the middle of nowhere. Worst case, I'd be in a two-sizes too small garbage bag at the bottom of the ocean." A sly grin began to curl up the fox's muzzle, "Of course, I felt that after all the hard work I did for him, it'd be only fair that I get to put that research to good use, but then, I already told you about that part."

Judy pondered Nick's explanation in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds being the muffled noises of vehicles and mammals outside and the occasional sound of Finnick taking another sip from his drink or a puff from his cigar.

"What about those mammals with him?" Judy asked, finally breaking the silence. "They're definitely not from Zootopia."

"You mean his Southern Savanna 'pals?' They're some private army for hire," Nick explained. "Very shady bunch, even by the incredibly low standards of mercenaries. What was it they were called again? Shoreline?"

"Coastline."

"Hmm?"

"Coastline," Finnick repeated. "You met their leader, that hyena that looked like a lion had been using his face as a scratching post, goes by the name of Cackler. He and his crew are a real piece of work, shadier than a Happytown brothel. Got their paws in all kinds of nasty work: coups, 'enforcement', assassinations, abduction, 'acquisition,' there's no work too dirty for those guys."

"In other words, the perfect match for a psycho like Dante," Nick remarked.

"Wait, what kind of mammal goes to a mercenary company for an assassination?" Judy questioned.

"The kind that just wants the job done and ain't looking to be subtle about it," Finnick shrugged.

"Guess they're expanding into treasure hunting now," Nick noted. "Strange choice...doesn't exactly fall into their area of expertise, not nearly enough explosions or mammals to shoot."

"Really?" Finnick asked incredulously. "You're gonna just go ahead and say that last part without even a _hint_ of irony?"

"Hey, you were the one who blew up the temple, remember?" Nick defended.

"Yeah, because I was cleaning up _your_ mess!" Finnick sniped back.

"Well..." the red fox faltered, "I never _plan _on our jobs going sideways like that. As hard as it is to believe me when I say it, I really would rather our jobs didn't end with mammals shooting at us and shit blowing up... "

"And yet it seems to happen so often when you're around," Finnick rolled his eyes.

"I...guess it's just part of my charm," Nick awkwardly grinned. "Exciting adventure wherever I go...yay..."

"More like a pain in my ass, wherever you go," Finnick grumbled as he took another drink.

"You know, Dante_ did _mention that Cackler and Coastline were in pretty dire straits," Judy pointed out.

"Wouldn't be surprised," Finnick said. "Word is Cackler made a number of 'bad investments' that ended up costing him more than an arm and a leg. Got Coastline involved in several civil wars that didn't pan out well. Given the rumors, wouldn't be surprised if Dante was right about them being in deep shit."

"Makes sense," Nick agreed. "Cackler probably hopes this job will be enough to get him and his crew out of the hole they've dug themselves in, and then some."

"They certainly complement each other well if that's the case," the reporter agreed. "Dante needs their muscle and Coastline needs his money."

"And they're both dead set on finding Henosia." Nick concluded, "Which means they'll definitely be looking for us after that little show at the temple, assuming they haven't started already."

"So just what are we gonna do about that, Kid?" Finnick asked as he topped off another drink.

"As I said back at the docks, we're gonna need to lay low for a few days and make sure they didn't pick up our trail," Nick nodded. "It's gonna take a while for us get ready anyways since you've gotta get our transportation set up. You gonna need to leave the motel for that, Gramps? I need you with Carrots until I can grab the rest of the research we've got on Henosia and Sir Francis."

"I'll need to go out eventually to get it all sorted," Finnick shrugged. "But I've got a few calls to make first, I can sit tight until you get back, won't need to be gone too long to get the rest taken care of."

"Is that when you two will finally tell me about Henosia?" Judy asked. "Because apparently that city is what's at the center of all this, and if a lot of mammals are willing to kill over it, I need to know why."

"You mean besides the fact that whoever finds it is probably set for life?" Nick asked rhetorically.

"You already know the answer to that," Judy narrowed her gaze at the fox. "I'm a reporter, details are kinda important..."

"Don't worry, Fluff. I said I'd tell you what I know, and I will," Nick promised. "It'll just be way easier once I have all the research for us to look at."

"Fine, then I'm going with you," she said.

"I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I'm guessing you have no idea how to spot a tail or move through the city without being noticed," Nick shook his head. "No, you'll be staying here with Gramps and sitting tight while I gather up everything we need."

"I hate sitting tight..." the reporter grumbled.

"Yeah, that seems pretty obvious," Nick smirked. "Still, getting bored is a lot better than getting shot or caught and squeezed for info, they do not like to ask nicely. Looking at you, I'd imagine they'd go with clamping a car battery to your ears."

"Okay...point taken," the rabbit conceded, finding the picture Nick had painted quite unsettling.

"Don't worry, Gramps'll keep you company until I get back."

"Speaking of which," Finnick cut in, hopping off his seat and holding an open paw out to the rabbit. "I'm gonna need your money in order to get things started."

"Uhhh, how much?" Judy asked, a little taken aback.

"All of it."

"What? No, I mean how much is it going to-"

"All of it, bunny," Finnick repeated. "It probably won't be enough, whatever it is, but it'll get me started. Then I'll just have to work my charms to get the rest taken care of."

"It's funny, even after all the times I've seen you in action, I still have a hard time associating you with a word like 'charm,' Gramps," Nick said with a smirk.

"That's cause you're an idiot with no style or class," the smaller fox shot back. "Certainly explains why I get more tail than you."

"Ouch," Nick placed a paw over his chest, feigning offence, "that's a low blow, old timer."

"Okay, that's enough," Judy sighed, putting her money in Finnick's paw. "Just take it, before you start going on about another one of your 'stories.'"

"You say that now, bunny," Finnick said with a slight grin. "But after a few days cooped up in here, you'll be dying to listen to my stories. You have no idea how boring laying low can get."

The desert fox counted the money, pocketing most of it and giving the rest to Nick. "Here, Kid, and that's all you're getting, you can use whatever you have that passes for 'charm' to take care of the rest."

"I'm sure I'll manage just fine," Nick said as he pocketed the money and headed out the door. "Make sure not to cause too much trouble while I'm gone, you two," he gave them a mocking wave as the door closed shut behind him.

* * *

**Eleven Hours Later**

Nick was standing outside the scuffed up door to their room. He hadn't really paid it much attention when they first arrived, but looking at it now, he finally noticed just how crummy the place really was, although those stiff beds were probably what should have tipped him off in the first place. Not that he could really complain, they had paid for safety, not comfort. It wasn't like they'd even be able to enjoy the comforts of a nicer motel room anyways if Dante and his Coastline goons showed up at their doorstep.

It took a bit longer than he would've liked, but thanks to the money he got from Judy and a few called in favours, Nick had finally managed to get a hold of all the research they needed. Now that he was finally back at the motel, he could give the others a proper rundown on Henosia, and then they could start getting ready for the next step of their journey.

The fox took a deep breath, anxious at the thought of stepping through the door. The bunny had not been in the best of moods when they first arrived in the city, although he couldn't really blame her given the fact she was now on Dante and Cackler's shit list because of him.

_Let's just hope Gramps managed to lift her mood, being cooped up with her for several days straight is really gonna suck if she's still pissed at me._

He opened the door and stepped through to a sight that he wasn't expecting. Finnick was sitting back in a chair by the table, a drink held in one paw and a cigar in the other, well maybe that part wasn't very surprising. What was surprising though was the sight of Judy sitting across from him, leaning forward in her chair and engrossed in the story he was telling.

"So then I said to her, 'Well you'd better tickle mine too 'cause now I gotta catch the damn thing!'"

The doe burst out laughing, her movement causing the chair to fall over backward and send her tumbling along with it. Even after she had hit the floor she was still laughing though, cradling her sides as she rolled back and forth.

_Wow, not even a full day and she's already caved into Gramp's stories,_ Nick shook his head. _Poor bunny never stood a chance._

"Damn, you never laughed that hard at any of my jokes," Nick said, making his presence known to the other two.

"Nobody laughs at your jokes, Kid," Finnick said as he puffed out a cloud of smoke. "I'm the funny one, remember?"

"Oh yeah, of course, how could I forget with that charming, upbeat personality of yours," Nick rolled his eyes as he placed the collected research down on the table and offered a paw to the still giggling rabbit on the floor.

"Careful, Fluff, would hate to see a super bunny like you done in by a bad joke of all things. After everything you've been through, going out like that would be just insulting."

Judy finally stopped her fits of giggling and looked up at the fox. There was a brief pause before she took the offered paw. "Thanks…" she said hesitantly as Nick helped her up, some tension still lingering the air, but not nearly to the same degree as earlier that day.

_Guess Gramps really did manage to lift her mood after all. I don't think I'll ever understand how the hell that old grump does it._

"You were gone longer than I thought you'd be…" Judy muttered. If Nick didn't know better, he'd have sworn he heard a hint of worry in her voice.

"Yeah, we thought maybe Dante and his Coastline pals had scooped you up or somethin'," Finnick said before taking a puff of his cigar.

"Right, cause you two looked _so_ worried when I walked in here," Nick smirked. "Besides, there's no way I'd make a dumb mistake like getting caught by those idiots in the middle of a packed city."

"Right, and I'm guessing letting Dante bug your gear was just all part of your master plan and _not_ a dumb rookie mistake?" Finnick sarcastically snapped back, a smirk curling up his muzzle.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny, Gramps," Nick deadpanned. "Glad to see you've found your sense of humor again, at least that booze is good for something."

Finnick just shrugged and took a sip from his glass. When the smaller fox didn't say anything else, Nick decided to move on to more pressing matters and turned his attention to the reporter.

"Come on, Carrots," he gestured at the research he'd brought. "You wanted to know about Henosia, well now it's time for your lesson."

Judy set her seat back up while Nick pulled up a chair for himself and sat down between her and Finnick.

"Alright Nick," Judy said as she got comfortable. "Time to see if you really do know what you're talking about or if you're just highly skilled in boasting. Now tell me, what exactly is Henosia?"

"Doubting my credentials, are you, Carrots?" Nick raised an eyebrow. "I'll take that challenge. Let's start with this, what do you know about the history of Zootopia? About how it was founded?"

"What does Zootopia have to-"

"You're the one who's challenging my credibility, so if I'm gonna prove how awesome I am, then I need to know how knowledgable you are," Nick beamed smugly. "Now be a good little bunny and answer the question."

Judy complied, groaning in frustration as she did. "Well...it was said to have been founded around an old watering hole during a terrible drought. All the other sources had dried up and that watering hole was the only viable source of water left. It became the focal point of every tribe in the region, both prey and predator, with violent fights erupting every time any mammal tried to make a move on it. Eventually, it got so bad that an agreement had to be reached or else nobody would survive. That agreement was said to lay the groundwork for the foundations of Zootopia as we know it."

"Good answer, Fluff, I'm almost impressed," Nick said, proceeding to shake his head. "But no, that's just a story that got mixed up with the truth. The higher-ups at the time figured it'd make for a good tale about teamwork, cooperation, peaceful coexistence, and all the other crap Zootopia pretends to stand for so they just ran with it and the masses ended up believing it as fact. Pretty easy to do when nine out of every ten mammals in the city are prey, very big on the herd mentality, will agree with just about anybody who sounds like they know what they're talking about, no questions asked."

"Great, you showed you know something I don't, congratulations," the reporter deadpanned, looking very unimpressed. "What does this have to do with Henosia, exactly?"

"He's just building up to the point to feed his ego, he's an ass like that," Finnick cut in, taking another drag from his cigar. "Speaking of which, stop leading the bunny on and get to the damn point, already, she's not the only one getting sick of your showboating!"

"Alright, fine, fine," Nick raised his paws in surrender. "The truth about Zootopia's founding is far more boring than any stories you might've heard. There might've actually been a drought at some point, it's debatable, but it doesn't really matter in the end. Beyond the story they made up, any drought that might've happened wouldn't have had any meaningful impact on the founding of the city. Truth is, the leaders of the various prey and predator tribes realized that co-operating and pooling their resources together was a lot more practical than constantly trying to kill, skin, and eat each other. Also made it a lot easier for them to get rich off the masses, but hey, that's politics for ya. The actual idea for the city, though? That was drawn from many different legends, I'm sure you've heard of at least some of them, any adventurer worth their salt has."

"I know there's a number of different legends that tell of ancient cities where prey and predator lived together, and it wouldn't be out of the question to believe that these stories helped inspire the idea of Zootopia as we know it," Judy explained. "But that's all they were, stories, there's no real consistency between any of these legends. The stories of how they were founded, the names of the cities, where they were located, what they looked like, these details all vary wildly from one legend to the next. Most historians believe these cities are all just myths purported by various species and the common theme of different species living and working together just stems from the shared desire for a peace that seemed impossible at the time."

"True, that is a pretty commonly accepted theory. And one that makes a lot of sense in context," Nick accepted. "But I've got a better one."

The fox grabbed one a tome and slammed it down in the middle of the table. It was dull red with a gold border and the outline of a six-petaled flower in the center of the cover.

"What if they weren't all just different stories?" the treasure hunter proposed. "What if each of these legends is actually recounting the same city, and each species is just remembering it differently? It wouldn't be that big of a leap in logic, the passage of time does have a tendency to warp how mammals perceive and remember events. Even more so when different species are involved since each can interpret the same historical event in vastly different ways."

"Henosia…" Judy deduced. "You're saying that these legends are all different accounts of Henosia."

"Exactly!" Nick slapped his paw on the table, making the rabbit jump a little. "And I'm willing to bet that's what our dear old pal Sir Francis was looking for."

The fox opened up the book, flipping to a page showcasing a wide variety of mammals of differing types and sizes, both prey and predator. They were all standing in unison beneath a banner depicting a white flower with six petals.

"Like in the legends you mentioned," Nick began to explain, "Henosia was said to be a massive city where species of all types lived together in harmony and worked toward a greater good." He pointed out the various mammals depicted in the pages, "Big, small, prey, predator, nocturnal, diurnal, it didn't matter. As long as they had something to offer and played well enough with others, they had a place in the city."

He was about to flip the page when Judy reached out with a paw and stopped him. "That flower..." she stared at the banner, "I've seen something like it before."

"No kidding, depictions of that flower were everywhere back at the temple," Nick said. "I'm guessing it was of symbolic importance to the city."

"No, I mean even before the temple, I've seen something similar to that flower before. I was trying to figure it out earlier, but then I got sidetracked when we ran into Dante," the rabbit's ears started twitching and the sound of her foot tapping against the leg of the chair could be heard as she struggled to recall the memory.

"Oh! I remember now!" Judy excitedly announced, practically jumping in her seat. "_ Midnicampus holicithias,_ that's what I was thinking of!"

Nick just stared blankly at the rabbit, "Miniholo-what-now?"

"Night Howlers," Finnick answered. "She's talking about Night Howlers."

"Night Howlers? Why does that name sound so familiar?" Nick thought out loud as he tried to remember where he'd heard that name before. "Wait, aren't those the flowers that make mammals go berserk if they eat them?"

"What?" Judy asked perplexedly, "No, they're used by farmers for pest control. My dad plants them in the fields to keep insects away from the crops, I've never heard about them driving anybody savage, they aren't even meant to be eaten."

"Tell that to Usar and the Icebreakers," Finnick replied.

"Usar?" Nick inquired, thinking back to the incident Finnick was referring to. "That tiger we worked with on the Nestuka Job? That was the one who went crazy and massacred the client along with most of his own crew during the exchange. You're telling me he was on Night Howlers?"

"You were in the same bar, Kid, did you think he just hated the booze _that _much?" Finnick sassed. "Some asshole slipped a bunch of Night Howler into his drink, probably was looking to disrupt the deal and figured a rampaging tiger would do the trick."

"Well if that was the goal then it sure as hell worked, and then some," Nick shuddered, recalling how smoothly everything had seemed to be going until that tiger had started choking on his drink. It hadn't been the fastest things had gone from calm to complete chaos in the course of his treasure hunting career, but it was definitely up there, probably at least the top three.

"No kidding," Finnick grumbled. "Nearly froze my tail off trying to get that artifact only to have a tiger nearly take my head off. Didn't even get paid after all that shit since the damn client went and got himself ripped to shreds."

"Hey, it wasn't a complete wash, we managed to pawn it for a decent amount," Nick reminded him. "And given how sideways that whole thing went, I'd say we were lucky enough to escape with our hides intact."

"I had no idea they could do that..." Judy muttered, briefly paused in shock before shaking her head and bringing the conversation back on track. "But those flowers at the temple and in this book, they remind me of _Midnicampus-"_

"Yeah...there's no way we're gonna be able to remember that name," Nick interrupted. "Pretty sure Gramps is already getting a headache from trying to remember it," he looked over to see the desert fox scowling at him, "or maybe it's just the cheap cigars."

"Fine, they remind me of _Night Howlers." _The rabbit took another look at the picture and furrowed her brow, "But I don't think they're the same species."

"What do you mean?"

"Look at them," Judy pointed at the flowers depicted on the banner. "These flowers are white."

"So?"

"Night Howlers are dark blue."

"A related species, maybe?" Nick suggested. "Some sort of genetic off-shoot?"

"Perhaps, but if they are, then they're not anything I've ever seen or heard of before," Judy answered. "And why hold a flower like that in such high regard, anyway?"

"Wouldn't be the only culture out there that considered a flower like that to be of high status," Nick explained. "There's a whole bunch of cultures and civilizations that believed night howlers could be used to strengthen their warriors in battle. Wouldn't be wrong, a rampaging lion frothing at the mouth and hell-bent on cutting you down to ribbons makes for a pretty strong rebuttal to most arguments. Some cultures even used them as part of a rite of ascension for selecting new rulers, you manage to eat one without going crazy, then you're strong enough to rule, that sort of thing."

"That sounds...messy."

"Yeah, those ascension rituals tended to be pretty bloody affairs more often than not," Nick said, looking down at the flower.

_Gotta wonder though, what did Henosia use this flower for?_ Nick pondered to himself before deciding to get on with the history lesson.

"Anyways, let's put a pin in that whole Night Howler thing for later. We can tackle that again after I get you up to speed on Henosia."

Nick flipped to a drawing of the city that looked similar to the murals they had seen lining the halls of the temple. The city itself was depicted in a display of almost divine radiance with rays of light shining off of it, making it seem less like a city and more like some sort of divine beacon. All along the perimeter of the city were the mysterious white Night Howlers. Like the city, they also seemed to be practically glowing with holy radiance, further supporting Nick's suggestion of the value the city placed on them.

"The city was said to be a paradise where mammals lived in peace and prosperity. I'm always wary of anybody who tries to claim that anything's a paradise, but if the records I've got are any indication, then the city was an economic, social, and cultural powerhouse of the ancient world."

He flipped to another set of pages, one showing piles of gold and treasure while the other seemed to depict scholarly mammals writing on scrolls or carrying various texts and tomes. "There are stories that the city's vaults contained wealth beyond measure, more than the city could ever hope to spend in a thousand years. It was also said to have some of the most elaborate archives in the world, each supposedly a treasure trove of knowledge and wisdom."

"This all sounds amazing," Judy muttered in awe.

"I know, right?" Nick chuckled. "Forget Zootopia, this sounds like the place to be!"

He started flipping pages again, resting on one that was far less flattering in its depiction of the city. The gates were shut and the city was now partially shrouded in darkness. No longer depicted in an aura of radiance, it looked like it was now on the brink of being consumed by encroaching darkness. Groups of mammals were rushing the walls of the city, clawing at them as they tried to force their way inside, others were raising their arms up as if begging to be let in. The next page depicted them slumping away in defeat, the city itself in the background and completely shrouded in shadow.

"But if this job has taught me anything, it's that nothing lasts forever," Nick continued. "One day, the city just went silent, no buildup, no conflict, nothing. The gates just closed and all activity in the city stopped, no trace of mammals or anything within the walls. Some mammals tried to get in, they were determined to either figure out what was going on or try to take advantage and loot the place, but the few who did manage to find a way in never came back. Eventually, the rest just gave up and left, and the city soon disappeared entirely, although that may just be an exaggeration and the knowledge of its location was simply lost due to the events that followed shortly afterwards."

He turned to another page, this one depicted a scene of mass hysteria and chaos. Armies of mammals could be seen clashing with each other as cities burned in the background. Some mammals struggled against one another in bloody combat, be it with swords, claws, fangs, or anything else on paw, while others were cowering, fleeing, or down on their paws and knees begging their gods for mercy.

"There's a theory that the disappearance of Henosia led to an event called the Great Collapse. The records reference a number of civilizations that existed at the same time, with Henosia acting as a sort of keystone that kept the other civilizations in line and co-operating with each other, even if the cities themselves were not nearly as inclusive," Nick described. "Once Henosia vanished, all hell broke loose as the other civilizations started to collapse into anarchy. Details are kind of sketchy, but whatever happened, it was sudden, violent, and delivered such a massive shock to mammalkind that by the time the dust had finally settled, all the civilizations had disappeared. After that, most of mammalkind had reverted back to the more primitive practices that embody what we call the stone age: tribes, predation, going savage, making clothes out of the hides of mammals from rival tribes, all that lovely business."

"But what actually happened to Henosia?" Judy asked. "A city doesn't just disappear without a trace, especially one that important. There has to have been something left behind, even with all the destruction caused by this 'collapse.'"

"Nobody knows," Nick answered. "The records mentioned something about the gods either destroying or concealing Henosia and causing the collapse of the other ancient civilizations as a punishment on mammalkind for turning away from them. Seems with all the cooperation going on, they started to figure they didn't need their gods anymore. I guess that's one way to make sure your children appreciate you though, take away their most treasured city, then plunge their entire society into anarchy and chaos until all that's left are a bunch of primitive tribes running around skewering each other with sharp sticks, eating each other, and bashing each other's brains in with rocks, talk about tough parenting."

"You don't seem like the kind to believe in the gods," Judy doubted.

The fox shrugged, "Nah, don't really believe that, or at least the theory about how 'the gods did it', anyway. Was probably just a convenient excuse to cover up what I imagine was a much more embarrassing and scandalous reason behind the city's decline and the subsequent 'Great Collapse' that followed. Either way, the end result was the same, the city was forgotten and faded into legend. And eventually, even that legend faded from the collective memories of mammalkind. Most of the records of Henosia and the other civilizations were most likely lost during the chaos brought on by the Great Collapse, and even those that did survive were rejected by most of the archaeological community as fairy tales and nonsense."

"Only a pawful of records have survived to this day, this book is one of them," Nick tapped the pages with a digit. "Nowadays, the city is only really remembered through those legends that inspired Zootopia, and even those cities are believed to be myths, so naturally, there are very few out there who've even heard of Henosia, and even less who believe that it's real."

"Then we'll just have to follow Sir Francis' trail then," Judy said. "Find the city and then we'll get all the proof we need that it's real!"

"I take it that means you'll be providing more than just financial assistance, then?"

"Of course, there's no way I'd pass up the opportunity to see this place in person!" Judy said, practically beaming with excitement only for it to quickly vanish as she shot the fox a stern look. "And besides, after all the stunts you've pulled, it's the only way I can be sure you won't just ditch me and try to take it for yourself."

"Ouch," Nick winced. "That's harsh...and fair given what's happened so far…" The fox glanced over at his older partner, "Which means we need to get our transportation sorted out, how's that going, by the way, Gramps?"

"Made a few calls and the money's got me started. Bunny managed to squeeze her producer for some extra so we're moving even faster than I thought," Finnick answered. "Marian should be good to get us there once she's ready in a few days time."

"Marian?" Judy asked.

"Gramps' one true sweetheart," Nick smirked. "Don't worry, you'll meet her soon enough."

"I've been thinking though..." Finnick started. "Are we really sure about this? I can get Marian ready soon, but this job is starting to sound way too hot for us."

"Too hot?" Nick quirked his brow. "What are you getting at?"

"As much as I like the sound of 'wealth beyond measure,'" Finnick said, "I feel like I need to remind you guys that we're not the only ones looking for this place. If we do this, we don't only have to worry about Dante and Cackler, but also the entire godsdamn army they've got backing them up."

"Okay, so maybe they've got some muscle with them, but they don't even know where the city is," Nick countered. "We do, that gives us the upper paw. That army of theirs isn't gonna do them much good if they don't even know where to go."

"That's what you thought when you ditched Dante last time," Finnick pointed out. "How'd that turn out for us, again?"

"Things are different this time."

"Not nearly different enough, say what you will about that zebra, he's determined and resourceful," Finnick countered. "He found us once, what the hell's to stop him from doing it again? And he'll probably have even more of his Coastline pals with him the next time around."

"Why are you so reluctant all of a sudden? You were the one who was constantly bitching about how we'd better be getting a good payday out of this," Nick pointed out. "We're looking at the ultimate payday once we pull this off!"

"When I say a 'good payday', I mean making enough money to spend the next six months drinking and chasing tail in Bochi," Finnick growled. "Not the kind of shit that some mammals want so bad they'll send an entire godsdamn army after you!"

"I'm not walking away from this," Nick stated resolutely. "And if you're right, then that just means we need to get there sooner rather than later before Dante figures out how to find it on his own."

Finnick just shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Kid, can I have a word with you?" The sandy coloured fox glanced over at the bunny, "Alone?"

Both of the foxes looked at Judy who just sat there in awkward silence.

"I'll just be out in the hallway then," the reporter finally said. She hopped off her chair and walked out the door, closing it shut behind her.

Once the rabbit was gone, Finnick chugged the entirety of his drink, slamming the glass down on the table and glaring angrily at Nick. "You're out of your godsdamn mind, you know that, right?"

"That seems a little harsh," Nick said. "You're overreacting, Gramps, we've been through worse than this."

"No we haven't, Kid, nothing like this," Finnick argued. "I mean sure, we've gone up against rival treasure hunting crews and even a few pirate bands in the past. But those guys barely knew how to even hold a gun, that won't be the case with the likes of Coastline."

He poured himself another drink and downed the whole thing. Nick had no idea how such a small mammal could hold his liquor like that, that much probably would've been enough to knock him flat at this point, but Finnick looked like he was barely buzzed.

"And now you've got this bunny all wrapped up in this little scheme of yours," the older fox continued, pointing at the door to the hallway. "And she has even less of a clue what she's going up against than you do!"

"She can take care of herself," Nick pointed out. "You saw how she handled those Coastline idiots back at the temple."

"She got lucky, Kid, we all did. How long do you think that'll last?" Finnick challenged. "A good treasure hunter needs to know when to walk away from the table, all that gold and fame ain't gonna be worth shit if you're too dead to enjoy it. Do the smart thing, Nick, it ain't worth your life, or the bunny's."

"So just give up, then? That's what you're saying?" Nick shot back. "I'm not just gonna walk away from this, Finn, this isn't just some simple artifact or payday. This is Henosia we're talking about, a literal city of legend. This is the sort of opportunity I've been waiting my entire life for! I can't just cut and run now, no matter how dangerous it is. Especially if it means letting that bastard Dante win!"

There was an awkward pause as Nick left that statement hanging. Even when he wasn't in the room, Dante always found a way to make things tense.

"Look, I know it's just a business to you and that's fine," Nick assured his partner. "If you want to back out of this then I won't hold it against you, but I'm still going, and you know Judy will as well. Sure, she may have had some first-time jitters after we escaped the temple, but once she cleared her head, it was obvious how badly she wanted this, even if her job didn't depend on it. You saw how determined she was when she convinced her producer to keep this going, or the way her eyes lit up as I described the city, this is probably just as important to her as it is to me."

Finnick just stared at Nick in silence for what felt like an eternity, his face unreadable as he considered his next words. He finally let out an irritated sigh, "I always knew you were gonna get me killed one of these days, Kid..."

The desert fox took a long puff of his cigar before putting it out in his ashtray. "Alright, Nick, you win. If you're set on finding that godsdamn city despite everything, then I guess I'm coming with you."

"So you'll still help me?" Nick asked. "Even after trying so hard to talk me out of it?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Finnick scoffed. "Of course I'll help you. I've had your back for nearly twenty years, I'm sure as hell not gonna bail on you now."

"Thanks, Gramps," Nick smiled, he may have been a grumpy old bastard, but Finnick was always there for him when it counted. "You're a good partner, you know that, right?"

"Better than your sorry ass deserves, that's for sure," Finnick grumbled. "If we're actually gonna do this, then you'd better go grab the bunny."

"Can do," Nick started to walk towards the door before looking back at Finnick. "You know she heard all of that, right?"

"Oh yeah," Finnick nodded, flicking one of his ears. "I can hear her pressed up against the door."

"I am not!" the bunny's voice called out from outside. A smug smirk curled onto the muzzles of both of the foxes as they let the awkwardness sink in.

"Uhh...I mean...oh shoot," the muffled voice muttered.

Nick opened the door to a very embarrassed looking bunny, her ears drooped behind her back and her face practically glowing bright pink beneath her fur.

"Sorry..."

"Don't worry about it, Fluff, I would've probably done the same," Nick chuckled as he followed Judy back to the table and sat down next to her. "But seriously though, this isn't gonna be easy, we're wandering deep into uncharted territory here. Are you sure you're up for it?

"I can take care of myself, Nick," the reporter said firmly. Nick knew how badly she wanted this, there was no way she was going to back out. "Besides, you owe me."

"I suppose I do," Nick shrugged before grabbing some of the research and passing it to his associates. "Alright then, we've got a few days still before Marian's ready to take us out. Too risky for any more than one of us to go outside at a time while Dante and Cackler are looking for us, so we might as well spend this time getting as familiar with Henosia and Wilde's notes as possible.

"Always did have a knack for studying," Judy beamed with pride.

"Better put to those skills to use then, Carrots," Nick grinned. "We've got the next few days to learn everything there is to know about this place, and then we're off to find the long lost city of Henosia!"

With that, Finnick lit up another cigar as the three of them began pouring over the notes and documents, studying long into the night.


	8. Marian

_Author Note: And with this update comes the end of the first act, more or less. Hope you guys enjoy it, still got a ways to go before we're all caught up!_

* * *

"Uuuuugh! Finally!" the rabbit groaned, rolling her head from side to side as she stretched her limbs to get all the kinks out. "It's so good to actually be able to see the sun again. If I spent another minute cooped up in that crummy motel room, I swear I'd have completely lost my mind."

"And I believe you one hundred percent when you say that, Fluff," Nick said with a stretch and a yawn. "You seriously looked like you were about to kick a hole in the wall."

"Yeah, well...I don't handle confinement well...Need to be able to jump around, get those muscles moving," Judy explained lightly bouncing on her feet. "How long has it been, anyway?"

"About four days," Nick answered.

"Really?" Judy shook her head in near-disbelief. "Wow...it felt so much longer…"

"Yeah...laying low can really suck," Nick agreed. "But hey, at least you've developed a newfound appreciation for Finn's stories."

"Whoa now, I'll admit they went a long way towards helping with the boredom," the rabbit conceded. "But that doesn't mean I want to hear any more of them. I mean bucking broccoli, some of those stories were way too vivid! That was way more than I ever needed to know about mammal anatomy, let alone wanted to!"

The doe shuddered briefly as some of Finnick's more...detailed...accounts flashed through her memory. "I don't think I'll ever be able to look at a pretzel the same way again…"

"Hey, at least you got some nice laughs out of it. Besides, you'll forget all about those sordid details once Marian gets us to Henosia and the real work starts," the fox pointed out as they finally reached the docks. "But best look alive for now, lest we get trampled before we even meet up with her."

The docks were a chaotic flurry of ships, mammals, and machinery of all types and sizes heading in every direction. It had been somewhat busy when they first limped into the docks several days earlier, but this was something else entirely. It was probably as busy as that street Nick had chased Judy through when they first arrived, but with even less space to move around. Above all of the chaos, they could see Finnick standing on top of a pile crates, his large ears twitching as he looked back and forth, surveying the area.

"Don't tell me you lost her, Gramps," Nick called out to the older fox.

"Don't be an ass, of course I didn't lose her," Finnick shot back. "Just trying to figure out the best way through this mess without getting flattened by some asshole who isn't paying attention."

The old fox looked around for another minute or so before he jumped down from the boxes, certain he'd found the best path to take. He started moving through the controlled chaos before him, calling for Nick and Judy to follow. "Over this way, and watch your step, most of these guys won't notice or care if you're in their way."

"You're exaggerating, right?" Judy asked uncertainly. "There's no way the mammals out here would be _that _callous."

"Oh, sweet, innocent little bunny," Nick laughed as he walked ahead. "How little you know about the world."

"Just be careful," Finnick cautioned. "We'd hardly be the first mammals around here to wind up being scraped off the bottom of some megafauna's foot."

There was a sudden high pitched squeak from behind, both foxes turning to see Judy narrowly dodge out of the way of a rhino dock worker carrying a massive wooden crate. The rhino merely looked back at the bunny and gave her a dismissive snort as she scampered away.

"What did I_ just_ say, bunny?" Finnick chuckled.

"Better be careful, Fluff, dreams are hardly the only thing to be crushed out here," Nick smugly grinned.

"Glad to see you both find this so funny," Judy said, shooting them both a withering glare.

Nick just shook his head with a light laugh, "Well, just try not to get stepped on for a little bit longer, we're nearly there."

It was an arduous task to navigate the crowds safely, but Finnick made sure to steer clear of the larger mammals, or at the very least, the ones who weren't watching their step. Eventually, they managed to reach the edge of the docks where there was far less frantic activity going on. A number of seaplanes were moored to their pier with small teams of mammals tending to the maintenance and preparation of some of them.

"There she is!" Finnick announced.

"Where?" the rabbit asked, looking around in confusion. There were a number of other mammals; pilots, mechanics, dockworkers, and the like, but none of them were female.

"Right there," Finnick pointed at an old twin-engined Gurrmam G-21 Goose seaplane sitting at the edge of one of the piers. It looked pretty beaten up from years of operation but was clearly well maintained. It was painted a metallic white with red trim on the wings, engines, nose, and windows. Far more interesting, though, was the image painted on the side of the fuselage right between the nose and the cockpit. It was of a rather sultry looking grey-furred vixen sporting a red one piece and a smile that could be best described as somewhere between mischievous and flirtatious. She was leaning slightly back with a Hoophson submachine gun held upward in her right paw. To the right of her was a single word painted on the fuselage: 'Marian.'

"Oh…" Judy said, her head tilting to the side.

Finnick's ears dipped a bit in disappointment at seeing the bunny's less than excited response. "Not what you were expecting, huh? Guess she is getting pretty up there in years now."

"What? Oh no, it's not that, it's fine, really!" Judy anxiously tried to correct, shaking her head with worry that she might have offended the desert fox.

"Don't bother trying to coddle me, bunny, I've seen that look enough times to know what it means. You're hardly the first gal who didn't like the first impression," Finnick said, a cocky grin curling up his muzzle. "But don't worry, I always manage to get 'em to come around in the end."

"Oh geez, no more stories, please, that's now what I meant!" Judy almost shrieked, wrapping her ears around her face in an attempt to hide the pink glow beneath her fur. "When Nick called her your sweetheart, I thought he meant we were meeting a vixen or something."

"Oh she's one hell of a vixen, believe me," Finnick remarked, banging his paw against the metal to emphasise his point. "She may not look like much, but trust me, the old girl's got it where it counts. Will be a couple of days, but she'll get us to Henosia, no problem."

The diminutive fox walked over to a two-part hatch, pulling both halves open. "Come on," he waved the other two over. "Waste too much time out here and we're likely to be spotted by some Coastline asshole, wouldn't put it past 'em to have teams watching most of the docks in the region."

The three of them stepped through the hatch and into the plane itself, setting their gear and supplies down in the back. The interior was pretty barebones, a dull grey frame with lined metal and a few rigid seats with very basic padding. It wasn't going to be a comfortable flight, but it would suit their purposes just fine.

Nick and Judy got their gear and supplies strapped in place at the back while Finnick went over the pre-flight checks and prepared for takeoff. As Nick finished and made his way to the cockpit, he noticed the smaller fox had ceased his activity and was just staring out the window.

"What's up?"

"Those two, over there," Finnick answered, his gaze fixed on a pair of mammals outside. "They've been staring at Marian ever since we got here."

Nick looked out the window at the pair Finnick had pointed out. The mammals in question were an oryx and a kudu wearing shorts and t-shirts. The oryx wore a blue shirt while the kudu wore a red one. Despite what Finnick had said, neither of them was looking their way. If anything it looked like they were having an argument as each took it in turn to shove the other. Unable to hear what they were saying, Nick moved to the hatch and popped the top half open to listen in.

"-_ou_ shut up!"

"_You_ shut up!"

"_You_ shut up!"

"_You_ shu-"

_*SLAM*_

"Alright, think I've heard just about enough of that," Nick concluded as he pulled the hatch shut and dusted off his paws. "Not an issue, just some idiot tourists by the looks of it. Jeez, you'd think they were an old married couple or something, the way they were going at it."

"You don't think they're Coastline?" Finnick asked. "I'll admit, they don't exactly seem like they have it together..."

"I may not be much of an expert on spying," Judy added. "But I'd think even Coastline would be more subtle than those guys." She jerked a thumb out the window back at the two mammals who had since moved on from shoving to clumsily locking horns.

"I dunno," Finnick said hesitatingly, watching the two prey as their fight quickly took a turn for the embarrassing once they realized they were caught on each other's horns and began awkwardly trying to pry each other loose. "Why else would they be eyeballing Marian like that?"

"Come on, Gramps, with the kind of shit you like to paint on this plane, it's a miracle every mammal in the docks isn't staring at us right now," Nick smirked.

"Not my fault they can't appreciate quality art," Finnick shrugged.

"Yeah, yeah, only the best for your baby," Nick rolled his eyes, strapping into the co-pilot seat. "Buckle up, Carrots, I think it's about time we headed on out of here."

"Uhh, what about those two?" Judy asked. Pointing back at the two mammals still struggling to separate themselves. "Should we lend a paw or something before this spat of theirs draws the wrong kind of attention?"

"Nah, they look like they've got it under control," Nick said with a chuckle as the oryx pulled a bit too hard and finally managed to break free, only to go tumbling over the edge of the dock and splash into the murky water below. It took a moment for the kudu to realize what had just happened before rushing over in alarm. He tried to pull the oryx back up, only to wind up tumbling into the water along with his friend/enemy...they couldn't quite figure out which one they were.

Seeing that the situation had sorted itself out, Judy shrugged and strapped herself into one of the side seats behind the cockpit while Nick looked over the coordinates they had acquired from the temple and pinpointed their location on the map for Finnick.

"Should take us about a day or two to get out there, made sure we have enough fuel in the back for the return trip, too, so shouldn't wind up crashing into the ocean if all things go as planned. Now come on, time to get your tails in gear and watch this girl in action." Finnick flipped several switches and hit the ignition. The propellers began to spin as the engines started firing up and built to a nice consistent roar. This lasted for all of a few seconds before they started sputtering and choking, finally dying down to an awkward silence.

"Uhhh...is it supposed to do that?" Judy asked in a concerned tone.

"I think Marian might've finally had it."

"Nah, she's fine," Finnick dismissed, reaching for a wrench. "She just needs a little love tap to get going is all." He opened the side window and swung the wrench hard against the engine, a harsh clanging of metal against metal ringing throughout the plane. It seemed to do the trick though as the engines started sputtering and fired up again, the propellers spinning up until they were back at a consistent roar.

"See?" Finnick laughed in triumph. "What did I tell you?"

"That...should not have worked…" Judy muttered in disbelief.

"And yet it did," Nick called back. "You really need to learn not to question the good things."

"The last time I didn't question the 'good thing,' it ended with Coastline trying to kill us," Judy snapped back.

"Oh right...it did...but hey, we survived didn't we?" Nick awkwardly tried to justify, with the rabbit only staring in relatively tense silence, or at least as silent as it could be with a pair of engines roaring in the background.

"...I'm just gonna go ahead and get us out of here before you say something even dumber, Kid," Finnick grumbled.

"Yeah...probably a good idea..." Nick winced, his ears and tail dipping slightly in embarrassment.

Shaking his head, Finnick started to guide the plane away from the dock and got into position for takeoff. Once he was properly lined up, Finnick began accelerating the seaplane forward, the whine of the engines increasing in pitch as the plane continued to gain speed until it finally lifted off from the sea and became airborne. Looking down, the three of them saw the ships and docks, they all looked so small against the wide expanse of the ocean, and only shrunk further as the plane gained altitude.

"Look out at all of that, Carrots" Nick called out, staring down at the endless blue of the ocean as it practically glittered under the sun. "Tell me this isn't the kind of thing you become an adventurer for!"

"It's so amazing from up here," Judy gasped, staring down in awe at the sight below her.

"And it'll only get even more amazing from here on out," Nick boasted. "Now get ready Henosia, we're on our way!"

* * *

_**Two Days Later**_

"We're on the trail of Sir Francis Wilde's final expedition and it has led us here, to this small island chain all the way out in the middle of the Dakashi Ocean," Judy narrated for her camera, facing it towards the approaching chain of islands partially obscured by low hanging clouds.

"Let's get a closer look," Nick suggested, turning to face the camera as the rabbit pointed it at him. "Just hope we're the first ones here."

"We better be," Finnick growled, keeping his gaze focused ahead even as Judy panned the camera over to him. "If those idiots turned out to be Coastline after all and Marian gets shot up because of it, I'm gonna bite your tail off."

"What's this? A threat to bite off something _other _than my face?" Nick smirked. "Nice work, Gramps, way to get those creative juices flowing and show some real originality."

"Guess I can edit that part out," Judy quietly chuckled to herself before turning the Pandasonic camera on herself and continuing the narration. "Will we discover the lost ruins of an ancient civilization predating the stone age and a fortune in forgotten treasure? Or do the islands have darker secrets in store for us?"

"There we go," the rabbit said as she shut off the camera. "That should keep them hanging on for more."

"You know, you're pretty good at the upsell," Nick remarked. "I bet you'd make quite the hustler if you put your mind to it."

"Thanks, but I think I'm doing just fine where I am," Judy responded. "I'm looking to actually make a difference in the world, not swindle mammals out of their money."

"Yeah, never been big on that sort of thing either," the fox agreed. "Had the potential, probably would've been quite good at it had things gone a different way. No big loss though, I'd rather be out in the jungle or jumping around old ruins searching for treasure than on the street hustling some poor saps for a quick buck any day of the week."

"You know, if you ever did decide to hustle, I could imagine you and Finn doing some sort of father/son routine," Judy suggested. "Have Finnick dress up in a costume, give him a pacifier, it'd be perfect!"

Given the low growls and angry looks Finnick was throwing in their direction, it was obvious he didn't approve. But Nick decided to keep prodding anyways. "Might need to dye over the grey in his fur, but yeah, I think he'd do great in a little elephant costume."

Judy burst out laughing at that image. "I can see it now, sweet little ol' Finnny, wants to be an elephant when he grows up! You'd hear the awww's from a block away."

"What do you say to that, Gramps?" Nick mockingly asked. "I think you'd make a great elephant!"

"How about this?" Finnick answered, scowling menacingly at both of them. "If you two don't shut up right now, then I'm gonna set Marian down early and make you both swim the rest of the way! How does that sound?"

"Alright, alright, point taken, we'll leave the grumpy old fox alone," Nick relented. "Come on Carrots, let's go back and check the supplies."

The fox and rabbit left the cockpit and took a quick stock of their supplies, confirming there was enough to last for a few days on the island as well as the return trip. Since they still had some time before Finnick would land the plane, they decided to sit down on a set of passenger seats and stare out one of the side windows at the approaching island chain.

Nick focused his gaze on the largest island, looking for any sign of ruins in the distance. With Judy being silent and no other noise besides the constant roar of the engines and the rushing of wind as it whipped past the plane, Nick found himself lost in thought as he stared out at their destination.

_So this is the supposed resting place of Henosia, original Zootopia and pinnacle of a pre-stone age society_. _What was it you and the Blackhorn Empire were looking for out here, Wilde? Treasure? Knowledge? Something else, entirely? And why keep the expedition a secret? What was so important that you couldn't let anybody else know about this place?_

"So what's so special about that ring?" the rabbit asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm?"

"The ring," Judy repeated, nodding at the round piece of metal tied around the fox's neck. "The one you're always holding. That somebody special?"

Nick looked down, finally noticing the ring he'd been rubbing with his thumb. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't even realized he'd been doing it until the reporter pointed it out.

"Oh...ya...I guess that's one way of putting it…" he finally answered.

"Huh…" Judy muttered in thought. "Guess it's true what they say about foxes mating for life."

"Be sure to tell Gramps that," Nick chuckled. "He seems to have missed the memo."

Finnick just took one look back at Nick and Judy with a brief glare before shaking his head and turning his attention back to the cockpit.

"No, this was Francis Wilde's ring," Nick explained. "I guess you could say I…'inherited' it."

"'Inherited,' huh?" Judy noted curiously. "I bet there's quite the story behind that."

"Oh there is, Carrots, believe me," Nick responded. "Maybe I'll even tell you someday if you decide to stick around."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," the reporter said with a sly smile as she leaned over and grabbed the ring out of Nick's paw, pulling it towards her.

"Ack!" the fox gagged as he was pulled along for the ride. "Easy there, bunny, I've still got this thing tied around my neck! You've walloped me enough times already, I don't need you adding strangling to the list!"

"Oh don't be such a baby," Judy teased. "I just want to take a closer look."

The doe peered closely at the ring, looking over every bit of its silver inlay design. One particular thing that caught her attention was the phrase inscribed on the outside, she narrowed her eyes as she focused on it, reading every word out loud.

"'Sic...Parvis...Magna.'"

"'Greatness from small beginnings,'" Nick translated, beaming as he did. "That was his motto."

"Seems like a rather fitting motto for a fox thief to live by," the reporter grinned. "Puts a nice positive spin on what you do."

"Treasure hunter, Fluff," Nick corrected. "Though I can't blame you for mixing up the two. The differences are subtle, easy to confuse."

Judy rolled her eyes. "Very subtle, in fact, one'd probably be forgiven for saying there aren't any."

"Ouch," the fox gasped in mock sadness, placing a paw over his heart. "Why do you always have to go after my integrity like that?"

"Just trying to keep that ego of yours in check," Judy smirked as she took a closer look at the ring, feeling it with her fingers until she noticed something. "Hey, what's with the markings on the inside?"

"Those? Oh nothing important," Nick answered as with a sly grin. "Just a little cipher used to translate all of Wilde's notes."

"Really? No kidding…" the reporter mumbled to herself. "I was wondering if it was just your ego talking when you said Dante wouldn't have been able to figure out Wilde's notes without you. But then I tried reading them back at the motel and it all looked like a bunch of gibberish. But if those notes were in code..."

"Then Dante wouldn't have been able to figure it out," Nick finished for the rabbit, grabbing the ring back and holding it up in his paw. "Not without this little beauty."

"See, Wilde was always one to play his cards close to the chest. Probably why he wrote his notes in code to begin with. Wanted to make sure nobody else could make use of it without him knowing," the fox explained. "He probably knew that wherever this expedition took him, it would lead to something big. And with the Blackhorn Empire hot on his tail, he couldn't risk letting his research fall into the wrong paws. Probably had his notes and ring sent away, made sure to keep them out of reach of the wrong mammals but still leave a trail of clues behind just in case."

"For someone clever enough to figure it out," Judy gathered. "Somebody like a certain sly fox."

"Ah gee, Carrots, you're gonna make me blush," Nick smiled. "I didn't know you thought so highly of me."

"Oh no, I was talking about Finnick," Judy answered with a smug smile of her own, barely containing her laughter as she saw the unimpressed look Nick was giving her now. "But then, you're pretty sly too, Slick Nick."

"Oh wow, 'Slick Nick', how very clever of you," Nick jabbed sarcastically. "_Really_ putting that wit of yours to good use."

He took a moment to look back down at the ring in his paw before turning his attention back to Judy.

"You know, that saying wouldn't be such a bad motto for you either," he suggested.

"Really?" Judy asked, her head tilted to the side.

"Sure, farmer's daughter from the sticks, teaches herself bun fu or whatever and sets out to makes one of the greatest discoveries in mammalian history while beating a bunch of Coastline idiots senseless along the way? If that doesn't have 'Sic Parvis Magna' written all over it, then I don't know what does."

Judy couldn't help but giggle at the fox's rather succinct summary of her life. "Sounds like a made for TV movie right there, that's for sure. Just one mistake though, I didn't teach myself how to fight, not entirely, anyway."

"Oh? Can't say I'm surprised. You seem like you know your way out around a brawl or two, but I had a hard time imagining a farmer's daughter turned reporter learning that sort of thing on her own," Nick pondered as he flicked his tail against the seat. "Where'd you learn to fight like that, then? Kickboxing ring? Martial arts studio?"

"Police academy, actually," the bunny answered.

Nick's ears flicked in surprise. "Police academy?"

"I wasn't always a reporter," she explained. "I actually used to be a cop in Zootopia."

"Really? You, a cop?" Nick asked. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Always wanted to be one, ever since I could remember," Judy said, a touch of nostalgia in her voice. "Just wanted to help mammals and make the world a better place."

"Huh, well how about that..." Nick mused, trying to imagine her in a police uniform. "I don't mean to prod, but given how you're out here in the middle of the ocean searching for a lost city instead of chasing perps on the streets of Zootopia, I'm guessing things didn't work out."

Judy's ears drooped behind her and there was a look of mild sadness in her eyes. Nick couldn't help but wonder if maybe he'd just opened some old wounds of hers.

"That's one way of putting it," she answered sadly. "Did manage to achieve my dream...for two days…"

"Yikes, and I thought_ I'd_ make a lousy cop," Nick winced.

"I was hired right after graduation, top of my class" the reporter started to explain. "But it was obvious the chief didn't want me, stuck me on parking duty right off the bat and made it clear I was never going to go anywhere else."

"Wait, they made you a meter maid?" Nick asked with a chuckle. "What, with the little hat and the vest and everything?"

The idea of the bunny in a vest and hat zipping around the streets of Zootopia struggling to jump high enough to jam tickets on car windshields was too much for the treasure hunter and he burst out laughing, much to the reporter's chagrin.

"Oh mam, that must've been precious," he snickered. "You must've looked so cu-" he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the deadly glare Judy was now pointing his way.

"Uhh...p-professional, y-y-yeah, professional" Nick stammered out, faking a cough as he did. "I was gonna say you must've looked so...professional..."

_Nice save, idiot._

"You finished?" Judy asked in an irritated tone.

"Yeah," Nick awkwardly answered. "Sorry…"

"Anyways…" Judy continued with a shake of her head. "There was a robbery right on the street I was working, so I jumped in and tried to stop it. Managed to catch the guy but the chief was furious at me for abandoning my post."

A nervous look crept across the rabbit as she continued the story, "Well that...and...some other things I'd rather not get into. Anyways, that was one of the reasons I was fired in the end."

"What was the other?" Nick asked.

"Insubordination," Judy answered. "The chief didn't appreciate me trying to go over his head when I offered to help on some missing mammal case, sent me packing after that and it was all over..."

"Huh...no good deed unpunished…" Nick remarked.

"I don't know," the rabbit doubted. "I was proud and impatient, I can't help but wonder if maybe things would've been different if I just kept a cool head and waited..."

"Nah, don't think like that. Fortune favours the bold after all, it's how a treasure hunter thinks, and I'd like to think it's how a good cop thinks," Nick offered. "Anyways, how'd your parents react? They're close, right? Disappointed to hear you got fired from your dream job?"

"Actually, they were thrilled," Judy said. "They never wanted me to be a cop, thought it was too dangerous. They probably thought I was going to come back home and work the carrot farm instead."

"Again, you're here instead of pulling carrots out of the ground in some farm county, so I'm guessing that's not what happened, either," Nick speculated.

"Obviously not," Judy smiled. "Had a minor in journalism that I was able to leverage into a job as a reporter for _Animalia Explorer_. Mam, they were not happy when I dropped that news."

"Sorry to hear the road has been so rough," Nick said, feeling a bit guilty after hearing her story. "I know I sure as hell haven't made things easy for you."

"Yeah, well, things haven't exactly gone the way I hoped they would," Judy remarked. "But hey, glass half full, at least I still get to do incredible things, right? Explore the world, discover long lost ruins, beat up some bad guys. Definitely beats working on the carrot farm. And I get to do some good as well, even if it's not the way I wanted to."

"Honestly, it's probably for the best," Nick said. "You can actually make something of yourself out here, rather than waste your life passing out parking tickets."

"Waste my life?! Now wait just a minute!" the rabbit objected. "I'll admit things have gone a bit askew, but that doesn't mean I've given up on Zootopia! It may not happen right away, but I will go back there one day and try again!"

"Why even bother?" Nick challenged. "Zootopia was holding you back, that's what it does to mammals like us! If you don't play by their rules, the city crushes you, it doesn't tolerate free thinkers. This type of life though? Out here? This is made for mammals like us! It's where we belong!"

"Come on, Nick, it's not as bad as you're making it out to be," Judy reasoned. "Zootopia is proof of what mammals can accomplish when they put aside their differences and work towards something greater. It's those old legends like Henosia made real, a place where anyone can be anything."

"If that was really true, you'd be a cop right now instead of out here in the middle of the ocean looking for the ruins of a city built on the exact same lie as Zootopia," Nick countered. "These so-called 'paradises,' where mammals can achieve their dreams and be whatever they want? Where prey and predator live in harmony and sing 'Kumbayah?' They're all lies, nobody really gets along and nobody actually cares about you or your dreams! Cities like those are where dreams go to die. They're not the paradises ignorant mammals think they are, they just happen to be run by mammals with a talent for pedaling crap as if it was gold!"

"Out here though," he argued, spreading his arms wide to emphasize his point, "you _can_ pursue your dreams! There's no stubborn chiefs set in their ways here, no overprotective parents, no condescending mammals that will see you as nothing more than a meek little bunny! Out here, if you want to do something, you can, no stupid rules or systemic prejudices to hold you back! You say in Zootopia, anyone can be anything? I say that couldn't be farther from the truth! All of this, though? Out here? This is the real Zootopia, where you can actually live your dream! Out here, anybody _truly_ can be anything!"

"This is your dream? This is the life you envision for yourself?" Judy asked incredulously. "That's insane, Nick. Zootopia may not be perfect, but at least there, you can live your life without having to worry about getting shot or gutted by somebody just because you're in their way or they thought you looked at them funny. I mean cheese and crackers, we have an entire mercenary company trying to kill us! And from the stories you and Finn tell, this isn't even the first time something like this has happened. How can you seriously think this is any kind of life to aspire to?"

"It may be a dangerous life," Nick said. "But as far as I'm concerned, it's the only one worth living. Out here, you're defined by how good you are, and how lucky you are, not by your species. If you can't do something, it's not because you're 'just a shifty low-life fox,' or a 'cute little bunny,' it's because you just aren't good enough. It's as simple as that. It truly is the great equalizer, more than Zootopia ever would be. I mean sure, it's pretty common for mammals to kill or cross each other out here, but at least it isn't because of what species they are."

"Okay, I'll admit that foxes get an unfair rap, I've had a mindset in the past that certainly didn't help things," Judy conceded. "But a fox shouldn't be on equal footing just because every other mammal in the room is equally likely to stab you in the back, that's a hard way to live your life, and a lonely one too."

"Yeah, well... I tried to do things your way once," Nick said, his ears and tail slumping slightly. "I'll spare you the details, but let's just say you're hardly the first one to be told 'no' just because of your species."

Nick turned around and stared out the window at the approaching isle. Kicking himself over the sharp turn the conversation had taken.

_Dammit, it was just supposed to be a little chit chat... How the hell did you let it get so real?_

His self chasting was interrupted, though, by a soft paw resting on his shoulder.

"Nick," Judy gently spoke. "Listen...I-"

_*BOOM*_

Nick barely even had time to even register the sound of whatever had been speeding toward the seaplane before it exploded against the hull. The blast rocked the entire plane, knocking Nick off his seat and sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Cheesy Pete's, what was that?" he heard Judy yell in surprise somewhere to his left. He looked over and saw the rabbit pulling herself up and rushing to the cockpit.

"Anti-aircraft fire?" Nick guessed as he struggled to make his way back to the cockpit, only to be nearly thrown off his feet again as the plane was rocked by a series of blasts.

"Mam, this is _so_ not cool!" he yelled in frustration and panic as he grabbed onto the back of the pilot's seat. "Finn, what's going on?"

"What the hell do you think? Some asshole's using us for target practice," Finnick shouted as he fought to keep the plane under control.

"Well, where's it coming from?" Nick shouted, frantically searching for the source of the flak that was lighting up their airspace.

"Down there!" Judy yelled, her face pressed against the side windshield and her ears swivelling in the same direction as she focused on the water below.

The treasure hunter looked down and saw a number of patrol boats close together around one of the smaller islands. They looked like some sort of scouting party, several of them with flak guns strapped to their decks that were firing on the plane's position. Even from so high up, Nick could make out a symbol painted on the hull of some of the ships. An inverted triangle segmented into three smaller ones that were red, white, and black in colour. Nick knew that symbol, and it was one that spelled bad news for the three of them.

_Coastline...shit…_

His thoughts were cut short as they were was rocked by another direct hit, Finnick gripping the pilot joystick hard as he tried to keep the plane steady.

"Seriously!?" Nick yelled as he caught onto the frame of the cockpit doorway to keep from falling over. "What kind of asshole brings AA guns on a damn treasure hunt?"

"Gree, I don't know, Kid," Finnick yelled over the exploding flak. "Maybe the kind that knew the competition would be flying in on a godsdamn plane?!"

"Hey, this isn't my fault!" Nick defended himself, trying to ignore the fact that it probably was, in fact, his fault.

"Then why don't you explain to me how the hell they got the drop on us?!" Finnick shot back as he struggled against the joystick gripped in his paws. "Because they sure as hell didn't stumble onto us by accident all the way out in the middle of nowhere!"

"Uhh...guys?" Judy jumped in, her paws gripping firmly to the copilot seat as if she were holding on for dear life. "Maybe spend less time arguing and more time getting us away from those guns!?"

"What the hell do you think I've been trying to do, bunny?!" Finnick snapped back as he pulled hard on the stick, trying to get the plane out of the line of fire. The plane protested and Nick felt a lurch in his stomach from the sudden shift in altitude, but the plane kept climbing, rocking and shaking every time the flak cannons struck too close for comfort.

"Godsdamn Coastline assholes!" Finnick yelled at the boats below. "Stop shooting up my baby!"

The flak finally ceased as they flew out of range and Finnick started to even the plane out. The relief was short-lived, however, as the roar of the engines was interrupted by a worrisome sputtering.

An encroaching sense of dread started to wash over Nick. "That better not be what I think it is…"

"Uhh...guys?" Judy called out, pointing at the stream of flames that were now trailing from the starboard engine. "We're on fire!"

The engine continued to struggle before finally dying out completely as the propeller blades slowed to a crawl.

"Oh, that's not good…" Nick muttered, pretty certain what was coming next.

"Dammit, she ain't gonna hold," Finnick growled as he smacked the instrument panel in frustration. "We gotta bail out, now!"

"Bail out?!" a shocked Judy echoed. "Does this thing even have parachutes?!"

"Please tell me you didn't skimp on those, Gramps!"

"Of course it has parachutes, what kind of dumbass do you take me for?" Finnick growled. "They're in the back."

Nick and Judy both made their way to the back of the plane, holding onto the interior frame to steady themselves. It wasn't enough to keep them steady though when the starboard engine suddenly exploded and violently rocked the plane, throwing both of them into the metal floor with a thud.

Finnick managed to keep the plane from rolling into a spiral dive, but the force of the explosion was still enough to cause the plane's hatch to tear loose. Nick managed to look up just in time to see it tear away from the hull and tumble through the air and out of sight.

Nick grasped the frame of a passenger seat with one paw and Judy with the other, making sure neither of them was about to take a surprise tumble out of the newly formed hole in the plane as he carefully pulled his way towards the parachutes attached to the back wall, his fur being blown in all directions by the wind the whole time. He quickly grabbed a small pack and passed it to Judy and then grabbed another one for Finnick as well as a larger one for himself.

"These better work, Gramps!" Nick yelled as he and Judy made their way back to the cockpit, placing a parachute on the seat next to Finnick for him to put on.

"Guess we'll find out in a second," the older fox responded, looking over at the parachute briefly before returning his focus to his steadily losing battle for control of the plane.

Nick bent down to the seat Judy was holding onto and helped her strap on her parachute.

"You ever done this sort of thing before?" the rabbit asked when it was fully strapped on, looking up at the fox anxiously.

_No…_

"Of course!" he lied as he started putting on his own parachute. "You just jump, count to five, and pull the cord! Now get going!"

Judy half crawled over to the gaping hole where the hatch had been, her ears and fur flapping against the wind. She nearly froze when she looked out of the opening and down at the jungle far below.

"Oh cheese and crackers…"

"You've got this," Nick shouted. "Don't think about it, just jump!"

She turned back to look at Nick, her nose twitching with anxiety. "See you guys on the ground?"

"We're right behind you," Nick nodded.

She still looked anxious, but the rabbit managed to nod firmly before gripping her camera tightly to her side and leaping out the blown hatch. Nick held his breath as he watched her fall further and further away until her chute finally opened up.

With the reporter safely off the plane, Nick started making his way forward to position himself at the exit. He looked out at the jungle below, feeling a deep pit in his stomach that probably wasn't too dissimilar from what the bunny had been feeling a few moments earlier.

Turning to look back at Finnick, he noticed that the smaller fox was still in the pilot seat, his parachute untouched.

"Gramps!" Nick called out. "Come on, we gotta go!"

"You get outta here, Kid!" Finnick called back, turning around to check that Nick was next to the exit and ready. "I'll be right behind you."

"Marian's done for, Gramps!" Nick yelled in frustration. "Just pull the autopilot and get your chute on so we can get the hell out of here!"

"I don't know if you're aware, Kid, but that damn thing wasn't designed to keep Marian steady when one of her engines has gone up in godsdamn fireball!" the desert fox shouted. "If my baby's going down, I'd rather keep her airborne long enough for you to get your worthless tail off of it first!"

"Dammit, Finn, now's not the time!" Nick shouted.

"Exactly! Now get going, or we'll both be dead for sure!" Finnick argued before turning back and focusing on trying to keep the plane as steady as possible.

"I'm not leaving you behind!" Nick yelled in frustration.

"Hey, Nick?"

"What?" Nick called back, a bit caught off guard by Finn using his actual name for once, but still running out of patience.

"You got your parachute strapped on?"

"Of course I do!" the red fox answered, not sure where his partner was going with this.

"Good."

Suddenly, the plane rolled to the left and Nick was sent tumbling out the blown hatch towards the island jungle below.

"Son of a biiiiiiiiitch!"

The fox ignored the advice he'd given the reporter, scrambling to pull the chord for his chute as fast as possible.

Nick grunted in pain as he felt the harness press hard into his body when the parachute released and caught the air. He looked down at the jungle below and realized something was wrong. His descent had been slowed, sure, but he was still moving fast, way too fast. He looked back up and that pit in his stomach returned when he saw that his parachute had an uncomfortably large tear in it.

"Dammit Gramps…" he mumbled before looking back down at the rapidly approaching trees.

Well, this was it, he'd done everything he could but the situation was out of his paws now. There was only one thing left for him to do.

Panic.

"Oh, crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!"

His flailed panicking came to an abrupt end as he crashed into the jungle canopy.


	9. Marooned - Part 1

_Author Note: Alright, time to upload the first chapter of the second arc! Looking back now, I think I might've gone a bit overboard when I first wrote this chapter and posted it on AO3. So for FFN, I decided to just divide it into two parts so that it'd be easier to take in. I'll still be sticking with the one chapter per week update, it's just that I will be posting twice today, once for each half. It should be the only time I have to do this. Anyways, enjoy!_

* * *

Darkness...flashes of light and faded images...the musky smell of earth and tropical plants...the chirping and calls of wildlife, they all assaulted Nick's senses relentlessly as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He wasn't sure how long this went on for, but after entirely too many nonsensical visions, he finally managed to force his eyes open. Everything was a blur as he struggled to adjust to the bright light now assaulting him as he came to.

_Huh...wha...what happened?_ The fox either muttered or thought, he was too disoriented to tell. The last thing he remembered was clouds...an island...and then fire...followed by falling. He tried to let out an exhausted groan, only to be surprised when his mouth refused to budge.

_Wait...I can't open my mouth...why can't I open my mouth?!_

He pawed at his face, trying to figure out what was wrong. He felt something wrapped entirely around his mouth, constricting all movement.

_What the hell is it? Is it a muzzle? It's a muzzle, isn't it?! Oh gods! Muzzle! Get it off! Get it off!_

The fox launched into a panic, thrashing around as he tried to pry and claw at whatever had wrapped his mouth shut. He finally managed to grip something in his paws only to realize that it couldn't have been a muzzle, it didn't have the same harsh, constricting feel that had inspired so much dread in him in the past. Looking down, he noticed that it was some sort of lightweight rope.

_What the? Is that...a cord?_

That's when it all came racing back to him. The plane, the island, Coastline ambushing him and his friends, getting blown out of the sky, being forced to bail out with a faulty parachute and crashing into the trees below.

_Phew, it's not a muzzle after all, looks like I just got tangled up in my chute and…_

The fox strained to get a better look, his vision finally starting to clear up enough for him to make sense of his surroundings. It turned out his parachute had not only managed to tangle him up, but had also gotten caught in the branches of the forest canopy. He craned his head to look down and saw that he was hanging a good fifteen to twenty meters above the ground.

_Oh...crap…_

Given everything that happened, he should've been pretty grateful that he was lucky enough to make it this far in one piece. Being alive was good and all, he wouldn't argue that; he just wished his luck wasn't so double edged all the time. It seemed like whenever anything good happened to him, something equally bad or worse had to come along just to make sure he couldn't enjoy it.

_Okay, take it easy Nick, you've got this, just take it slow. You can start by figuring out how to untangle yourself...without falling and shattering every bone in your body..._

He took a moment to unsheath his claws and look them over. They had recovered somewhat since their short stint as an improvised climbing pick back at the temple wall, but it would still be a while before they were fully healed. Still, they would do in a pinch as improvised cord cutters to untangle himself from the chute with.

_Easy Nick, watch where you cut, try to make sure you don't end up cutting the wrong cord and plummeting to your death…_

The treasure hunter carefully raked his claws over one cord after another, his mobility and freedom of movement increasing with each cut as the parachute's grip on him steadily loosened.

_Almost there...nice and easy...that's it...just a few more, then you can just swing yourself over to a branch and- _The fox never managed to finish that thought. He wasn't sure what happened, maybe he cut one too many cords, maybe the parachute just gave out on its own. It didn't really matter much at this point, the end result was the same, the chute had completely unravelled and Nick was falling towards the jungle floor.

"Oh crap!"

He reached out and grabbed the first thing he could, wrapping his paw around what turned out to be a loose parachute cord. He dug in as hard as he could, his paw burning from the friction as it slowed his descent. He finally wrenched to a stop a few meters above the ground with a jolting pain in his arm and a burning sensation in his paw. Not taking any chances, he reached up with his other paw and got a firm grasp on the loose cord.

"Ha...ha…" Nick laughed exhaustedly. "That was a close one...a second longer and I'd have splattered against the grou-"

_*Snap*_

The tautness of the cord fell away and the vulpine dropped to the jungle floor, landing flat on his back with a painful thud. He looked up and his eyes went wide as he saw the source of the snapping noise, a large branch falling straight towards him. He instinctively rolled out of the way with a surprised yelp as the branch crashed right on top of his landing spot. He let out a relieved sigh at his close escape only for everything to suddenly go dark as the parachute itself came loose and dropped on top of him.

"Think I might just...stay here for a moment," a dazed Nick decided as he lay there in the darkness beneath his chute. "Wait for the world to stop spinning…"After a few minutes of just lying motionless and letting his mind wander, he finally decided he was ready to get going. He tried to move, but the chute was heavier than it looked, weighing him down and stifling his movement as he struggled to crawl out from beneath it.

"Stupid...crappy...chute," the treasure hunter mumbled as he struggled to pull himself out from beneath it. "Ah, finally," he grunted once he was greeted by daylight again, free of the chute and getting back on his feet. He took a single triumphant step forward, only to stumble and land flat on his face. "That's probably gonna bruise," he groaned as he looked back and saw that the parachute had managed to wrap itself around his foot, tripping him in the process. "Get...off!" he growled as he tried to shake the chute loose with a kick, but it refused to relent, clinging firmly to his foot. "How the hell did you wrap around my foot so tightly? Find a new friend!" he yelled as he kicked repeatedly in frustration, finally managing to shake it off.

"Cheese and crackers, I've only just got here and this island's already trying to kill me," Nick sighed as he got back up on his feet. "Wait...did I seriously just say 'cheese and crackers?'"

_You're talking to yourself too_, he realized.

"I've been hanging out with that damn bunny too much…"

_That or taken one too many hits to the head._ Nick was seriously wondering if he was starting to lose his mind.

"You know what? Just don't dwell on it," Nick tried to reason. "I'm just...thinking out loud! Yeah! That's right!"

_You keep telling yourself that…_

The treasure hunter shook his head, trying to push those thoughts down. He had enough problems to deal with already, he didn't need to add _arguments with self_ to the list. "First things first," Nick started, trying to brush past his, hopefully minor, mental crisis. "Need to figure out where I stand."

The fox started trying to organize his thoughts. If he was gonna be able to pull this off, he'd need to figure out the situation, then he could form a plan. "Okay...so you have no idea where you are...your plane was shot down...you're stranded...no food...no supplies...your friends are missing..."

_Probably dead…_Yeah, those doubts weren't going away anytime soon.

"Shut up," Nick bit back. "And stop arguing with yourself…" He tried to bring his focus back to summarising the situation. "Okay...so on top of all that...you've got two psychos with gods knows how many mercs after you…" Nick continued, his ears and tail sagging as it became apparent just what kind of situation his poor decisions had landed him in. "That's… that's great...great start Nick...way to keep things under control..." He felt his doubts starting to mount again, but he tried to shake them off. "Don't dwell on it, that won't help, you've done this kind of thing before and you can do it again. Just gotta take this one step at a time."

The red fox looked in one direction, then turned around to look in the other. "Starting with figuring out where the hell I am..." He reached for his side pack, thankful he had it on him when he jumped out of the plane. He pulled out the map he had drawn of the island, frowning as he looked at it. "Son of a bitch...I'm really starting to regret the rush job I did when I sketched this…" The map was cruder than he would've liked, but it was still enough for him to make his way around the island once he had an idea of where he was. He started with looking around at his surroundings, searching for any distinct details or landmarks, but all he saw in every direction were similar looking trees and vegetation.

"Great...guess I should be disappointed if it was_ too_ easy..." he started. "Actually you know what? Screw that! I just got blown out of the sky, separated from my friends, my parachute nearly killed me twice and then it made me fall on my face, I'm allowed to wish things were easier!" He looked back down at the map and noticed sketches of raised ridges and cliffs on the western edge of the island. "Okay, then, maybe if I reach higher ground, I'll get a view of the whole island. Should make it easier to figure out where I am as well as where Judy and Finnick ended up."

_Assuming they're not dead…_

"Stop it! Just keep a clear head, Nick...you've got this." He pulled a compass out to check his bearings, steadying it until he was certain he knew which way to go. He then drew the gun from his holster, checking the magazine to make sure it was loaded as well as looking over the two spare magazines he had in his pack. "Really hoping I won't be needing this…"

_Coastline just shot you and your friends down, idiot, you're definitely going to need it._

Nick holstered his gun and placed the rest of his gear back in the pack. Once he was certain that he was as ready as he would ever be, he started heading west in search of higher ground.

* * *

_**Two Hours Later**_

_It's all your fault, you let this happen._

"Dammit, come on, Nick! Really?! Now is _not_ the time for this," the fox grunted as he shimmied along a small ledge outcropping, reaching to pull himself up to a nearby pawhold. He had spent the better part of the last half hour gradually working his way up the cliffside in search of a good vantage point of the island, hopefully without plunging to his death in the process. Self-doubt and guilt were hardly conducive to accident-free climbing, so he'd shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind while he scaled the cliff. But he couldn't hold them off forever, and in a case of horrible timing, said doubts and guilt came back with a vengeance.

"Besides, there's no point in worrying about them, not really," Nick tried to rationalize. "Judy got out of the plane, even saw her pull her chute."

_Can't say the same for Finnick…_

"Doesn't matter...he had his chute with him, he's probably fine."

_The one he wasn't wearing…_

"Ugh, why do I keep doing this to myself?!" the fox growled in frustration, making a small leap upward to another pawhold above and gripping it tightly. "As if climbing up a cliff with nothing but my paws wasn't hard enough already, now I gotta deal with this crap!"

_Face it, they're both dead because of you. You hustled them into helping you rip off Dante, and now they're dead because you hustled them again into coming with you. _

"Okay, first of all, they're not dead...probably, and second, they wanted to come as much as I did." Nick was really hoping he could either come to terms with these doubts or at least push them aside again until a point where a moment's distraction _wouldn't _lead to him losing his grip, falling, and being reduced to a fox shaped stain on the ground.

_Trying to hustle yourself, now? Judy just wanted to go home and Finn wanted to get drunk and chase tail in Bochi. Face it, you hustled them._ Said doubts and guilts did not seem to sympathize with his situation.

"I didn't have to make _that_ big of a sales pitch, they both wanted to be here, I just had to remind them of that." The fox pressed his feet against the face of the cliff and reached up towards another pawhold. "And rough landings aside, they'll be fine, they're both tough, I just need to find them."

_Face it, they're dead, it's what happens to anybody who makes the mistake of trusting a shifty fox like you. Eventually, you always let them down and they're the ones who suffer for it._

"Okay, this is seriously getting dark..." the treasure hunter took a deep breath. "Come on Nick, stop thinking about it, don't focus on the negatives, it's not that hard, just think positive. I'm sure they're perfectly- _Wooooaahhh!" _

The fox cried out in surprise as he lost his grip on the pawhold and fell away from the cliffside. He quickly shot his paws out and caught a small ledge a few meters below him, it cracked from the force of the impact and one of his paws slipped loose. He dug in hard with the other paw though, maintaining his hold on the ledge, if only barely. The sudden stop was still enough to spin the fox around, painfully slamming both his back and tail against the cliff face, leaving him with another pair of bruises to add to the collection as well as causing him to swing around and face towards the jungle. Looking down, he was treated to a view of the jungle expanse below that was actually quite breathtaking, although as beautiful as the view was, it was more of the bad kind of breathtaking given how it was reminding him of just how far the drop would've been if he hadn't grabbed that ledge in time.

"Son of a bitch!" he yelled. "This is why I didn't want to have to deal with this crap until _after_ I made it to the top!" With an exhausted sigh, he swung himself back around and grabbed onto the ledge with his other paw. Once he was certain he had a secure grip, he took a minute to calm down and get his breath back. "Okay, Nick, no more screwing around. Shelve the bad thoughts until you've made it up there," he tried to instruct himself. "Seriously, I doubt I have it in me to pull that off a second time…"

The fox shimmied along the ledge to the nearest pawhold and resumed his climb up the cliffside. Thankfully, he didn't give Judy or Finnick another thought until he reached the top.

* * *

"Finally," Nick gasped as he pulled himself over the ledge and onto the top of the ridge. "I hate cliffs so much…" The vulpine rolled over and lay flat on his back, finally able to take a moment to catch his breath and wait for the feeling in his arms to come back. Treasure hunting was certainly a physically demanding line of work, he would know, but spending nearly an hour climbing a cliff with nothing but his bare paws and a grappling hook was just insane, even more so when he managed to add one instance of nearly falling to his death to the mix.

Once he was ready, Nick got back up on his feet and took in the view he had nearly died trying to reach. As exhausting, unpleasant, and downright nerve-wracking the last hour had been, his gambit had managed to pay off. From up here, he could see almost the entire island. The ridge continued all the way to the south end of the island, gradually decreasing in height until it finally disappeared below the jungle canopy. Not far from the ridge was a series of small ruins, nothing large enough to be the fabled city of Henosia, but they seemed consistent with what looked like some sort of town on the map. To the north, he saw several more ruins that may have been outposts at one point. To the east, there was a series of small to medium sized mountains running close to the shore with visible ruins and walls built into them that looked far more elaborate in build and detail than any of the other ruins he could see.

"Hmm," the fox began to speculate. "Good location for a city, close to the shore, highly defensible, matches the location on the map... could that be Henosia?" He considered it for a moment before shoving the thought aside, "Can figure that out later. For now, gotta figure out where Judy and Finn ended up."

He scanned the island, turning his gaze back south until he spotted a plume of black smoke rising in the distance. "Okay, I'm guessing that's our crash site," Nick pointed. "So Finn's probably in that direction." He then spun around and pointed to the north, "Which means Judy will probably have landed somewhere over there." He looked back and forth at the northern and southern edges of the island, his ears sagging as he realized the conundrum this posed. "So whoever I go looking for first...will put me even further away from the other. Great...as if things weren't complicated enough already…" It was then that Nick looked out at the ocean water, seriously starting to wonder if he was tempting fate given what he was seeing out there.

Boats. Lots of boats. Enough for a small fleet. And all of them were heading straight for the southern edge of the island. Flying over the fleet was a single helicopter. Nick narrowed his gaze, certain of the mammal that was on board.

"Dante…"

Things were bad enough when he'd discovered there was already a Coastline scouting party waiting for them at the island. But now, as if being stranded in the middle of nowhere wasn't bad enough, there was an entire army about to make landfall. "Dammit...Judy...Finn...wherever you guys are…you watch your backs…"

He couldn't waste any more time, he needed to hurry up and find the others before Coastline did. The only question was who did he go looking for first? He glanced at the northern end of the island where Judy had landed, then back at the smoke on the southern end where Finnick and the Coastline fleet were.

_They're probably gonna head straight to that plane wreckage,_ Nick realized. _Which means..._

He didn't like the idea forming in his head, but he knew it was the only real option if Finnick was still alive. "Sorry, Carrots, looks like you're gonna have to sit tight for a bit. Finn's the one short on time," Nick decided as he started following the ridge to the south. "Can't believe I'm seriously about to head _towards _the army of trigger happy lunatics. Bet they'll make me into a fur coat or something if they catch me…"

_Or Finn…_

"Oh, great...more of _that_ to deal with… how swell..."


	10. Marooned - Part 2

_Author Note: And here's the other half!_

* * *

Things were rather uneventful as Nick made his way south along the ridge, moving from one traversable passage to the next in the hopes of finding a safe way back down to the jungle. "So far, so good, guess Coastline hasn't made it this far north yet," he noted. He tried to appreciate the lack of action while he could, if this job had made anything clear, every time Coastline showed up, things quickly tended to get loud and frantic, also, shit would usually start exploding.

As the passage started to curve around a large rock outcropping, something leaning against the base of the rock managed to catch Nick's eye. On closer inspection, he saw that it was the skeletal remains of a mammal. "Hello...what have we here?" The treasure hunter moved closer, bending down to investigate the dead mammal. It was some sort of ungulate, probably a sheep from what he could gather. The mammal's clothing was worn and faded and the shortsword gripped in its hooves was covered in rust, but the fox could still make out the dragon and lion insignia of House Leodor on the blade's pommel.

"Huh...you must've been part of Wilde's crew. So he made it after all..." Nick started rifling through the mammal's clothing. "Maybe you can tell me what happened out here." He eventually found a journal, opening it up and flipping through the entries until he found something relevant.

_March 2nd, 1585_

_There is much to say, but time is short so I will have to summarise to the best of my abilities, Wilde needs all paws and hooves on deck if we're to remain one step ahead of our Blackhorn adversaries. His instincts were as sharp as ever when his theory about the temple proved to be true, for we found the coordinates to_ _ Henosia within. All did not go as planned though, a Blackhorn armada managed to track and ambush us at the site. It should've been our downfall, their fleet was far larger and better equipped than ours, but Wilde is a crafty captain. Not only did he turn the tables on our ambushers and get us back to the ships, he even managed to break through the Blackhorn blockade with minimal losses. _

_There was a time when it would have brought me shame to say such things, but Wilde is a truly exemplary sailor and I can think of no other capable of performing as admirably as he has. He may be a fox, but we all owe him our lives, and I consider it an honour to be by his side as we claim this city of legend in the name of House Leodor and the Pine Isles. Still, it is too early to speak of such things as certainties, for_ _the odds are stacked against us. Even with the successes we've had, claiming the city before the Blackhorns will be no simple task. The trek will surely be a dangerous one and I pray that our fortunes continue to hold once we reach our destination._

Nick looked through the proceeding entries, but few were of any real interest. They were mostly accounts of the mammal's activities on the ship as they sailed for Henosia with the occasional brief skirmish against the Blackhorn fleet or encounters with rough waters and stormy weather. It wasn't until the final two entries that he found the answers he was looking for.

_August 14th, 1585_

_The gods certainly aren't making this easy on us. We reached the island where Henosia resides, but the Blackhorns finally overtook us. Wilde is a genius sailor but even he has his limits, the Blackhorns vastly outnumbered us and their crews were far less exhausted than ours,_ _ we never stood a chance. Most of our fleet was destroyed in the fighting, the rest were dashed against the rocks trying to escape._

_But all is not lost yet, Wilde and several teams have made it to the shore. The Blackhorn fleet may outnumber and outgun us, but all those advantages amount to naught within the confines of the jungle._ _With Wilde's ingenuity, the determination of our surviving crew, and the favour of the gods, we may just be able to salvage this situation yet. I go now to rest and prepare myself, the days to come will no doubt push all of us to our limits, and Wilde will need all of us at our best if we are to prevail._

"Wow, sounds like both Wilde and the Blackhorns went to some pretty extreme lengths to find this place," Nick said as he flipped to the last entry. "Now how does your tale end, buddy?" Judging by the blood that was staining the final page, it probably didn't end well.

_August 17th, 1585_

_I pray to the gods for deliverance, for at this point, nothing short of a miracle will save us. Fate seemed to on our side, for a time. The first few battles against the Blackhorns were decisive victories. Wilde is as clever on land as he is at sea, having us strike where they were weak and disappear into the jungle before they could respond. But the Blackhorns vastly outnumber us and they knew how to press that to their advantage. As savvy as_ _Captain Wilde is, even he couldn't stop them from forcing our mammals into a battle we could not possibly win. We must have killed at least ten of them for every one of us that fell, yet it still wasn't enough. The Blackhorns forces shattered ours and we scattered into the jungle. I can only pray that Wilde managed to escape, he's the reason we've made it as far as we have, and any hope of victory is truly lost if he has fallen. _

_I had to push my way through one of their lines in order to escape. I must've cut down at least a dozen trying to get away but it was still too much, I didn't even see the cursed weasel before he jammed his knife between my ribs. Not that it saved him since I still put my sword through his skull. I was able to escape and seek refuge in the cliffs above, but I fear the weasel's blow may have struck truer than I_ _thought as the wound still hasn't stopped bleeding. _

_The Blackhorns haven't pursued me so I have stopped to rest and tend to my wounds. Should I survive the night, I will see if there's another path down. Before that last battle, Wilde spoke of a fortress he was searching for that may hold the key to our victory. I pray that he is right and that I can meet up with him again to find this place. Gods willing, it may hold the key to getting us off this island alive._

"Looks like that wasn't how things turned out for you," Nick took the dead mammal's journal and placed it in his pack. "Sounds like Wilde's expedition turned into quite the shit show…one more thing the two of us have in common, I guess. At least this 'fortress' might make for a good lead to check out once I find the others."

Nick started moving along the passage again. As he turned around another corner, he jumped at the cracking of several gunshots. His hackles raised instinctively and he immediately dove behind a rock, pulling out his gun and chambering a round.

"Hey, hey! The hell you shooting at, bru?" he heard a voice shouting in the distance.

"Saw something, maybe...looked like movement in the trees," the 'bru' answered.

Curious at what was happening, Nick peeked over the edge of the rock to get a better look. He saw two Coastline mercenaries, a jackal and hyena, on a raised cliff path further ahead separated from his own by a small gap. The two of them were staring down at the jungle below, the jackal aiming at the treeline with his rifle while the hyena stood right behind him, looking down in the same direction.

"Well, that's thick jungle, eh? Isn't it all moving?" The hyena leaned over to take a closer look at the treeline, "I don't see anything down there."

"Damn it…" the canine shook his head. "All right everyone, false alarm!" he called out.

"Great..." Nick quietly muttered as he watched the hyena mercenary disappear behind a curve in the cliff, "Was really hoping I'd have more time before dealing with these idiots again." There wasn't much room to maneuver around these cliffs and Nick had no idea how many mercenaries were patrolling the area, both of which made for less than ideal conditions for trying to sneak around. But they didn't know he was here yet, which meant they probably weren't alert. He could use that to his advantage.

"Just gotta hop over to that ledge and shimmy my way around the side of the cliff," Nick said, starting to form a plan. "There's gotta be a passage or something that they used to get up here, I just need to find it."

He made a short leap over the gap separating him from the path, quietly pulling himself up and moving into some tall grass to conceal himself. Peering through the grass, he noticed the jackal was alone now, standing way too close to the edge of the cliff and just staring out at the island wilderness below.

_Not paying attention, should be able to quietly take him out_, Nick planned. _Can just stick to the cliff's edge after that. _

He slowly crept forward, making sure any rustling he caused as he moved through the tall grass could just be attributed to the wind. Once he was nearly on top of the jackal, he burst forward and planted a foot square in the back of the canid's knee. The mercenary stumbled forward with a pained grunt and Nick followed through, throwing his weight into the jackal's back and shoving him over the edge of the cliff. The mercenary only managed to get out a single surprised yelp before he was gone.

"Mind the landing, pal," Nick quipped as he paused to take a breath. "Well, that wasn't so bad."

"What now, bru? You stub a toe or something?" Nick heard the hyena call out from behind, his fur standing on end again as he realized he wouldn't have enough time to get out of sight. He turned around just in time to see the mercenary stepping around the corner.

_Shit!_

There was a brief pause as the hyena looked up, taking a moment to register that the mammal he was looking at wasn't the same one who had been treating the trees as hostiles a minute earlier. His eyes went wide in alarm and he gritted his teeth when he realized who it actually was.

"Hey! You!"

The mercenary immediately went for his rifle, but Nick was already one step ahead, sprinting towards the larger mammal as fast as he could. As he charged the mercenary, Nick reached for the grappling hook at his side and threw it straight at the surprised mammal's face. The hook connected against the hyena's muzzle with a crack and his head snapped backward, a pained growl emerging from the mercenary followed by the deafening crack of a gunshot as he fired wide.

The treasure hunter quickly moved to grab the hyena's rifle and disarm him, but the mammal was too strong and too quick to recover. Nick quickly came to regret his decision as the rifle refused to budge in his grip and he instead found himself being lifted along with it into the air. He held tightly onto the rifle as the hyena flung him back and, forth trying to shake him loose before just slamming him into the stone wall of the cliff instead. The blow stunned the fox and his breath was cut off as he felt the rifle slammed against his throat. The hyena got right in his face, snout bleeding, teeth bared, and eyes ablaze with fury as they locked onto his own. This was the look of a mammal who had no intention of taking him alive.

_This seemed like such a good idea about ten seconds ago..._ he probably would've said if he wasn't currently having the life strangled out of him.

Nick tried to shove the rifle back, but the mercenary had him pinned. As he struggled for breath, he switched tactics, using one paw to try and shove the hyena back as a distraction while reaching for his holstered pistol with the other, shoving it into the larger mammals exposed side and firing several point-blank shots. The hyena cried out in pain, dropping the fox to grasp at his wound for a moment before slumping over, silent within moments of hitting the ground.

With the mercenary dispatched, Nick gasped for air, slowly pulling himself up and grabbing his thrown grappling hook. He bent over and looked at the hyena lying on the ground. The eyes were now empty and lifeless without a trace of the fury that had been there moments earlier, this mammal would not be getting back up soon, or ever. "Asshole..." the fox grumbled before noticing a radio on the ground, the mammal had probably dropped it as soon as the fight started. "Hmmm, this might come in handy," he figured as he bent down and picked it up, attaching it to his belt.

"What the hell are you guys shooting at, now?" a voice called out from behind the rocks that seemed to be rapidly approaching. "This isn't a pillage or raid job, you idiots, Cackler and the rich boy want these guys found, and we sure as hell won't find them if they hear us coming because you're shooting everything that moves!"

_Crap...more of them!_

Nick quickly ran for the cliff's edge and dropped down, grabbing onto the ledge. Looking down, he noticed a second smaller ledge just below and out of sight, dropping down to it and grabbing on with both paws. He planted his feet against the face of the cliff and tried to stay motionless as the sound of padding footsteps steadily increased in volume just above him.

"What's got you guys so quiet all of a sudden? Don't tell me you're still pissed about...the...hell?" the approaching voice changing from casual to confused to alarmed as it got closer. "Shit! We got a mammal down over here! Somebody took out Tuan!"

"Anybody see anything?" another voice asked.

"Spread out and search the area!" the first voice ordered, the patrol leader if Nick had to guess. "Whoever did this, they can't have gone far!"

"You think it's Wilde?" the other mammal asked.

"Well Tuan sure as hell didn't shoot himself several times," the leading mercenary answered, sounding even closer than before. He was probably standing right above Nick, but the fox dared not crane his head up to take a look, lest he attract the mammal's attention.

_Quiet, Nick...quiet...if they see you now, you're dead for sure._

"No sign of Jax, either," the other mercenary noted. "Think our mystery mammal got him, too?"

"Possibly..." Nick heard the sound of feet shuffling, it sounded like the leading mammal was moving away, probably back to the rest of the patrol. "Make sure the others know to stay on their guard, this guy's gotten one of our boys already, probably two. I do _not_ want to end up having to tell Cackler this guy managed to kill several of our mammals and slip past."

Once he was certain the other mammals were gone, Nick took a deep sigh of relief. The relief quickly changed to stress and frustration once he realized how badly he'd miscalculated and how much more difficult it had made things. _Well, now they know I'm here, which means they'll be watching the passage. So...my options are trying to reach that passage, probably getting spotted and shot in the process..._the fox thought as he looked up at the top of the cliff ledge, o_r trying to climb down without any planned path and likely falling to my death..._he turned to look at the long drop down. _Nice job Nick, way to take something as simple as shoving a clueless mercenary off a cliff and let it spiral completely out of control.._.He braced himself and started moving along the cliffside, focusing on staying out of sight and hoping maybe he'd stumble on some other alternative.

Progress was slow as he quietly made his way along the cliff, the frantic sounds of footsteps above him the whole time as the Coastline patrols searched the above passageway. He tried to focus on the task at paw and not think about what would happen if they managed to figure out where he was.

"There's no sign of him, you think he slipped by?" he heard one of the mercenaries ask.

"No way, those shots went off right before we got there. He wouldn't have been able to slip past without us noticing," the commanding mammal speculated. "He's still here, he has to be. The only question is where?"

As Nick was listening in, his foot slipped against the cliffside, knocking several rocks loose. "Crap," he whispered as the rocks cracked and broke away, bouncing down the cliff and making entirely too much noise, in this case, too much being any at all. He silently prayed that the mercenaries above wouldn't pay it any notice.

"Hold on, what was that noise just now?"

Nick froze, his ears and tail completely stiff as he hung there in tense silence, hoping the mercenaries weren't smart enough to put two and two together and figure out where he was.

"The cliff! He's hanging off the edge of the cliff!" the leader shouted, dashing said hopes. Unfortunately, it seemed they _were_ smart enough.

_Maybe I should've thought about what would happen if they found me after all..._

Nick tried to flatten himself against the side of the cliff as mercenaries started peering over the edge looking for him, but it was a doomed effort. The climbing surface was simply too flat, there was nowhere for him to hide. His whole cliff shimmying plan for getting past them had hinged on the assumption that the mercenaries wouldn't think he was suicidal enough to try a stunt like this...

_Maybe it's my terrible decision making that always lands me in such tight spots..._

"There! He's down there!" one mercenary shouted before opening fire. Chunks of the cliff started splintering off as bullets peppered the surface the fox was clinging to, narrowly missing him and causing him to flinch.

Not one to sit idly while some asshole took potshots at him, Nick reached for his pistol, craning his neck up to see a light brown furred caracal firing at him. Not having time to line up his aim, he quickly snapped off several shots at his attacker, most of them missed the mark, but he managed to hit something as the feline fell backwards.

"Eina!" the caracal cried in pain. "Damn _brak_ pegged me in the arm!"

"Somebody kill that damn fox, already!" the leading mammal ordered.

Taking that as his cue to start moving, Nick glanced over and saw a rock outcropping further along the cliffside that would work as cover and started recklessly scrambling towards it. Bullets rained down from above as the mercenaries started firing with reckless abandon, hoping a stray bullet might be able to send him falling before he could reach cover. But the fox's luck and speed managed to be enough as he quickly hopped from pawhold to pawhold, successfully bracing himself behind the cover of the outcropping before any of the mercenaries could get a bead on him.

"He still down there?" somebody asked.

"What kind of moronic question is that? Of course he's still down there!" the leader shouted. "Hurry up and finish him off!"

The mercs continued pouring firing in Nick's direction to little effect, the bullets just ineffectually chipping away at the massive rock outcropping he was hiding under.

"Dammit, can't get a clean shot!" one mercenary shouted in frustration.

"Me either."

"This is going nowhere, hold your fire!" the leader ordered. On his command, all the gunfire died down and all that remained was the sound of the wind blowing against the cliffside. "Come on out, little fox," the leader taunted, breaking the silence. "I promise we'll make it quick!"

Nick carefully peeked out to get a look at the leader as he was leaning over the cliffside. It was a brown and white coloured tankwa goat, a very impatient looking one from the looks of it. "Thanks, but I think I'm good," he shouted back, firing off several more shots. They hit the base of the ledge the goat was leaning on, startling him and causing him to jump back out of the way. All of a sudden, the cliffside was lit up with gunfire again as the mercenaries began resuming their attack. Nick quickly ducked back behind cover though, the bullets once again bouncing ineffectually off the outcropping.

"Cease fire!" the goat ordered a second time. "You domkops are just wasting ammo at this point."

"He's right, you know," Nick shouted up at them. "Coastline must have really low standards, you guys wouldn't even be able to hit a sloth. Should just run along and grab a can for your goat officer pal to chew on, might improve his mood."

He hung there in silence, waiting for whatever angry taunt the goat mercenary was going to respond with. "Uhhh, that wasn't too specist was it? It's not like I have a problem with goats or anything...just don't like assholes trying to kill me is all..." Nick asked when the silence dragged on for too long. On some level, he _was_ seriously wondering if that taunt had been a bit much, but mostly, he was just stalling in the hopes he could figure out some sort of super reckless escape plan with a high chance of getting him killed before the mercenaries had time to come up with one of their own. Not that either option was preferable, but if he had a choice, he'd probably prefer to be the accidental cause of his own demise rather than give some other asshole the chance to do it.

"To hell with this, get the C4!" the goat ordered. "We'll bring the entire cliff down on this asshole!" Okay, so apparently Nick had misjudged how reckless and impatient mercenaries could be.

"Oh, come on! Seriously?! The can thing wasn't _that _bad!" Nick shouted before deciding to just wing it and started rapidly working his way down the cliffside. If he was fast and lucky enough, he might be able to find a decent escape route or at least some more suitable cover from the inevitable explosion and rockslide that would be coming his way. Given the fact he was improvising, he had no idea if there was any safe way down to the bottom, but it was certainly better than sticking around waiting to get blown up by Coastline.

He didn't get very far before he discovered that no, in fact, there was no safe way down to the bottom. The pawholds and ledges came to an abrupt end, leaving nothing but a smooth rock surface almost all the way down to the jungle floor. The cliff did start to slope out closer to the bottom, possibly enough for him to be able to safely slide the rest of the way, but it was way too far of a drop from where he was hanging. While he was not generally one to dismiss an idea just because it was reckless, one that broke his neck in the process was perhaps a little _too _reckless.

"Wonderful...What was that old saying, something about rocks and hard places?" Nick looked down at the slope below and back up at the ledge where the mercenaries were probably setting up the explosives. "But what if I could…" he took a look at his paws. He was too high up to safely drop down to the sloped section of the cliff, but if he managed to slow his descent enough…

_*Boom*_

A thunderous explosion interrupted his thoughts and he felt a heat wave wash over him followed by the sound of cracking as the cliff above starting to crack and break apart. He looked up just in time to see a boulder falling straight towards him. "Woah," he shouted in surprise as it nearly struck him, knocking away a good portion of the ledge he was hanging from and nearly taking him out with it. He tried to make himself as small as possible, looking around as he saw huge chunks of the cliff falling all around him.

"Okay, this is bad..." suddenly, the ledge he was hanging off of started to crack, shifting downwards and causing his legs and one of his paws to slip loose. "Very Bad! _Very_ _bad!"_ The ledge broke away entirely and the fox let out a panicked shout as he fell with it. He unsheathed his claws and slammed them into the smooth cliff surface, trying to dig into the rock with all his might, feeling his paws flare in agony as the claws screeched and tore against the surface. The friction it generated was able to slow his descent, but the rock surface was quickly wearing his claws down. Not that it mattered when another boulder smashed into the rock surface right above him, knocking him loose. There was a brief feeling of weightlessness followed by a painful impact as he landed on the cliff slope and started sliding downwards. It looked like he had managed to get far enough down to survive the fall after all, didn't stop it from hurting like hell, though. Fighting through the pain, he struggled to control his slide, orienting himself so that he faced towards the jungle as he slid down, pieces of the shattered cliffside smashing into the slope all around him as he went.

"Too fast! Too fast! Too fast!" he screamed as he slid down the slope at an alarmingly fast pace. He quickly curled into a ball to help soften the blow as the ground began to even out, rolling along and smashing through way too many bushes before finally wiping out and faceplanting into the ground. Dazed by the impact, he slowly struggled to pull himself up until a tree crashed right next to him, shocking him out of his daze and reminding him there was a collapsing cliff that still might bury him.

"Are you kidding me?!" Nick yelled, ignoring the pain he was feeling as he took off running from the landslide as fast as his battered body would allow. Chunks of the collapsing cliff bulldozed their way through the jungle, shattering and knocking down trees as they went. It was all he could do to keep moving and hope he didn't wind up buried under it all.

"Rocks! Too many rocks!" The fox yelled, instinctively ducking to the side when he saw a large shadow looming over him and barely dodging out of the way of a slab of rock that would have flattened him completely. "Wait, what the hell am I doing?" the fox asked himself, suddenly realizing how pointless it would be to try and outrun a landslide. Instead, he made a sharp turn to the left and started sprinting out of the way of the mass of tumbling earth. He managed to narrowly dodge his way past several more boulders as they smashed through the jungle before throwing himself safely out of the landslide's path with a desperate dive, crashing right into the middle of a large bush.

As the thunderous rumbling of the landslide and the cracking of broken trees eventually began to die down, Nick was finally able to take a moment and process what had just happened. He had managed to get himself completely tangled up in the bush up, somehow hanging upside down with his tail dangling in front of his muzzle. "Ow...my...everything...hurts," he groaned as he slowly dislodged himself from the bush, his whole body feeling like one giant bruise at this point. Once he'd managed to sort himself out, he looked over at the area that had been caught in the landslide, seeing the widespread devastation it had caused. Boulders and broken trees littered the ground with large patches of the canopy now completely gone. He could see through the patches to the sky and cliffside above, the part of the cliff where the landslide occurred had been completely transformed, large parts of it now missing or dislodged, like somebody had taken a giant chisel to it, or more accurately, an excessive amount of explosives. "Who the hell brings an entire cliff down just to kill one mammal?"

He looked down at his mangled claws, they were still flaring with pain and had been practically worn down to nubs by the rocks. "Dammit, it's gonna be months before they grow back, now... " He took a step forward hissing as a whole new set of sharp pains shocked his system. "There's gotta be a less painful way to make a living…"

The treasure hunter would've loved nothing more than to just sit down and rest again until everything stopped hurting, but he couldn't afford to stick around. Odds were those mercenaries would be coming to check the landside, he needed to make himself scarce before they realized he survived and tried to finish him off. He double checked his bearings to make sure all the climbing, running, explosions, and flying rocks hadn't thrown off his sense of direction before limping off into the jungle, wincing in pain with each step he took. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Stupid cliffs...Finnick better appreciate all the crap I'm going through just to find him..."

* * *

Nick had spent the better part of an hour limping through the jungle, his pace picking up as the sharp pains of his injuries and bruises gradually faded to a dull ache. "Not the worst I've ever felt. Had hangovers worse than this, that's for sure," he said, trying to keep himself from becoming discouraged. "Course after nights like those, anybody chasing me would, at worst, just stuff me in a trash can and roll me down a hill…" As lucky as he had been so far, he still barely managed to get out of his last few scraps with Coastline by the skin of his teeth, and certainly not unscathed if the soreness he was feeling indicated anything. Now that Dante and Cackler had brought a small army with them, he wouldn't be able to keep this up on his own, not with the kind of beatings he had been tanking. He needed help if any of them were going to survive, and that meant finding Judy and Finnick as soon as possible.

_Assuming they're still alive…_

"Gotta hurry up and find them before these damn doubts drive me up the wall," Nick furrowed his brow in thought. "Come on Nick, think, Gramps' given you tons of tips over the years, there's gotta be one you can think of that'll help you out of this mess." He took a moment to stop and began reflecting back on the various pearls of wisdom the grumpy fox had shared with him over the course of their partnership.

_Kid, don't bother wasting your time on all those Hollywool punches and haymaker crap. In a real fight, always go for the face. If you can't reach that high, bring 'em down to your level, a whack to the balls oughta do the trick. Then, go for the face._

"Nope."

_Swapping the artifact with something the same weight is usually 50/50. It either goes off without a hitch, or you'll set off the pressure plates, then ya gotta start running your tail off as all manner of darts 'n boulders 'n shit start flying at ya._

"Nuh, uh."

_There's nothing wrong with trying to charm a nice gal just 'cus she has a boyfriend. Just be sure you can either outrun him and any pals of his or that you can take 'em in a fight. That or get some pals of your own to back you up._

Nick shook his head. "Why is this guy my mentor, again?"

_You're not Blake freaking Vicious, kid. Don't think you can just blast your way through any rival crews you run into during a job, that's how you wind up as some asshole's new fur rug. If you're gonna go up against another crew, then you're gonna need every edge you can get. Don't be afraid to fight dirty, hit 'em where they're blind, use their own tools and weapons if you can get your paws on 'em. Playing fair is for idiots, the competition sure as hell won't be, so you shouldn't either. Remember, this business is all about doing whatever it takes to come out on top, there ain't any prizes for coming in second._

"Use their own tools..." Nick pawed at the radio he 'borrowed' from Coastline. "Not much, but it's a start if I can get in touch with the others." Nick grabbed the radio and flicked it on, "Please don't be broken..."Despite the beating it had taken during his escapades back at the cliff, the radio was still in working order, static and voices erupting from the speaker as it came on. He was about to key the button when he suddenly stopped. "Wait a minute...how the hell do I know if either of them even has a radio? And what channel would they be using? Coastline's bound to be using a bunch and it's not like I can just start chatting in any random channel without drawing attention..."

_Think Nick, what would Finn do in this situation?_

He focused hard, thinking back to past jobs he and the desert fox had done that might be relevant. One particular job he had pulled with Finn in Sanad Kavos came to mind with a potential solution when he thought back to a specific exchange.

_"You sure it's a good idea to use the police channels, Gramps? They'll be all over us if they figure out we're on there, and believe me, you do __**not**__ want to wind up in a Kavos prison..."_

_"Yeah, yeah, everybody knows about Kavos prisons, Kid. My guy says that as long as we stick to channel thirteen, we should be fine, they don't use that one. So quit getting your panties in a twist, already."_

"Bingo," the fox smirked. "Just gotta find an empty channel."

He turned the radio back on and started flipping through channels. "Just gotta hope the others figured that out as well...and that they have radios…" With a flick of his thumb, he flipped to the first channel.

_*Kssh*_

"Find anything?" a voice asked over the comm.

"Nothing," another voice answered. "Just an empty chute. Probably ditched it and took off into the jungle."

"Finally some good news," Nick sighed with relief, the burden he was feeling starting to lift. "An abandoned chute might mean at least one of them's still alive…"

"Found some pawprints in the dirt, looks like he started heading west towards the cliffs," one of the voices described.

"Oh, wait...that's my chute..." Nick realized, the burden slamming back into place. "Shit...well, never mind then." He flipped to the next channel, jumping into the middle of another conversation.

_*Kssh*_

"...I can't believe they blew up the damn cliff," one mammal was saying in disbelief. "Which one was it?"

"Wilde, they think," a second voice answered. "Shot at least one of our guys, and they think he pushed another off the cliff. Caught him hanging off the side of the cliff so they brought the entire thing down on him."

"Eish, talk about excessive..." the original mammal muttered in shock. "Did they at least get him?"

"Don't know," the second merc answered. "They're still checking the area. Last I heard, they hadn't found a body yet."

"You know the rich boy wants him alive, right? That zebra's gonna be pretty pissed if that fox turns up dead before he's had a crack at him. You sure they know what they're risking, operating like that? He's got a pretty nasty temper from what I hear."

_I would know_, Nick thought, thinking back to some of the stories he'd heard about Dante as well as his own personal experiences with him.

"Yeah, well, nobody really cares about that prick, he's Cacklers headache to deal with. Besides, we both know how little that sort of thing matters to the crew when their pride is at stake," the other mercenary responded.

"Well…that's just lovely...nice to know Dante's planning all sorts of 'creative' surprises for me. And that Coastline is kind enough to spare me that pain, if only because they'd rather kill me themselves..." Nick shuddered as he switched channels again.

_*Kssh*_

"So, Baju, how's the head doing?" a familiar sounding voice asked, although Nick couldn't quite remember who it belonged to.

"Still sore," another equally familiar voice groaned in response. "Starts throbbing if I think too hard."

_Why do I feel like I should know these two?_

"Who the hell could've guessed a little runt like that could pack such a wallop?" the second voice continued.

"Wait a minute…" Nick paused, starting to recall who these mammals were.

"At least he didn't nail you in the blimming balls!" the first mammal grumbled, letting out a pained grunt over the channel.

"Oh crap…" Nick whispered as he finally managed to put faces to the voices. The hapless nyala and cheetah back at the temple, the ones Finnick and Judy had beaten the shit out of.

"Damn that little _brak_, it still hurts to piss," the nyala growled over the radio. "And I still can't see the other one…"

Nick cringed as the memories of that fight came rolling back. Finnick always had a mean swing and it was hardly the first time he'd seen the small fox take down somebody many times his size, the guy was a natural at that sort of thing. Still, he couldn't even begin to imagine how painful a hit like that would be, that one especially, given how it so brutally connected with the antelope's... unmentionables...He almost felt sorry for the guy...almost...He couldn't exactly forget about the whole trying to kill him thing.

"And that rabbit breaking off your horn!" the cheetah, evidently named Baju, said, giggling slightly. "Eish, you had it rough, Tanger. How long before the missing one grows back?"

"Grows back?! The hell you..." the nyala angrily sputtered. "Those are_ antlers, _you dolt!"

"Wait...so that means..." the cheetah started.

"It means it's gone! Finished! Never growing back!" Tanger practically shouted. "Damn Wilde and damn that crew of his, can't wait to get my hooves on the whole lot of those assholes. By the time I'm done with them, a broken horn and bruised balls will be the least of their worries..."

"Uhh, bru? Foxes and rabbits don't have horns..." Baju pointed out, seemingly having missed the point of Tanger's rage-induced rant.

"...Shut the _hell_ up you mangy ca-"

"Yikes!" Nick shut the radio off, having had enough of that discussion. "I don't suppose it would be too late to just give them an apology..." Trying not to think about what those two probably had in mind for him if they ever crossed paths again, he turned the radio back on and switched to the next channel.

_*Kssh*_

"Team 6 reporting in," a voice called in after a few moments.

"Status report," another voice answered. It didn't sound like Cackler, but it was probably a Coastline officer.

"We've finished scoping the caves in the area, if they're laying low, it ain't down there."

"Well one of the other teams reported getting into a firefight with somebody along the western ridge, they think it was Wilde," the officer responded. "Might want to head in that direction, see if the others are trying to link up with him."

"We're on it," the mercenary affirmed before killing the conversation.

"Great...they're crawling all over the damn place looking for us already. Guess they don't want to make this easy for us..." Nick groaned as he switched channels again. "At least they seem to think the others survived, that's...probably a good sign...right?"

_*Kssh*_

"Supplies moving in?" the voice on the next channel asked.

"Yeah, offloading from the boat, should be set up at the camp in a few hou-"

"Booooooring," Nick yawned, having listened in for a full five seconds before deciding it was time to switch again.

_*Kssh*_

"Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever wonder why we're here?"

The fox left that channel behind with an irritated sigh. "This would be going a lot faster if there weren't so many bored idiots jamming up the air waves…"

_*Kssh*_

Silence was all that met him on the next channel. He waited a few moments to make sure there was, in fact, nothing going on, before finally keying the button to talk. "Uhhh...hello? Anybody reading me on here?"

There was a pause as he released the button before another voice answered.

"Swiftah? That you? What's going on? Why you calling in early?"

"Crap…" Nick winced, recognizing the gruff voice of Cackler. This was the exact sort of thing he _didn't_ want to happen. He braced himself as he keyed the radio again to answer.

"Uhhh...ey, mam! Everything's good...just messed up the report schedule...heh…" Nick stammered out, trying his best to imitate a Southern Savanna accent. "Bllimming dumb move….yah?"

_Please let that be a passable accent..._

"Who the hell is this? Are you drunk?" the hyena commander barked over the channel. "Never mind, where's Swiftah? Why are you on his channel?"

Nick winced even harder this time, he really needed to get better at doing accents.

"Uhhh, Swiftah went to take a piss... I'm just calling in for him," the fox improvised. "That's...that's why I called early! Didn't know the schedule. Honest mistake for anyone, right...bru?"

Nick smacked himself in the face. _Godsdammit Nick, why the hell did you call him bru?_

"Okay, you're either drunk, an idiot, a liar, or some combination of the three," an incredibly agitated Cackler growled over the radio. " Either way, I've heard enough! Who is this? What's your call sign?"

"Uhhh...uhhh…" Nick's mind was racing as he struggled to come up with a response, any response. "Just...give me a sec…I've got it...right...here...uhh...Oh crap! What the hell is that?! Swiftah, look out! It's heading straight for us! Take co-"

Nick shut off the radio mid-sentence, he'd done enough damage already. "Well that went horribly..." he said, slapping himself across the side of his own muzzle. "Way to be subtle, you dumb fox." Nothing had been going to plan ever since they found that damn temple, and it seemed with every move he'd made, things only further spiralled out of control. "Just hope I can find Finn and Judy soon before I manage to somehow screw this up even more," the fox said as he turned the radio back on and resumed his channel surfing.

He flipped through several more channels, nothing of interest in any of them beyond reports from patrols, inane arguments between bored mercenaries, and the occasional singing mammal who was either drunk or hadn't realized somebody was listening in. Nick might've even found some of the conversations and impromptu karaoke sessions hilarious if he wasn't so tired and anxious, with every channel he flipped through making him more paranoid that something terrible had befallen his partners. The next channel managed to help him ease up a bit, if only because of how bizarre the conversation was.

_*Kssh*_

"So…would it be called a _box?_ Or maybe a_ funny?"_ one curious mercenary was pondering.

"What kind of stupid ass question is that?!" responded a very perplexed sounding mercenary on the other end. "There's no way a fox and rabbit would even be able to do something like that. I mean how the hell would he even manage to fit his-"

"Okay then...moving on…" Nick shut off the radio, feeling awkward as hell. "Bet if Carrots heard that one, it probably would've been enough to kill her from the awkwardness alone, no bullets necessary." He turned the radio back on and flipped to a channel with an equally perplexing conversation, albeit with a different topic of discussion.

_*Kssh*_

"No."

"Come on!"

"I said no!"

"Bru, you'll barely feel it! Besides, it's not like we don't suffer worse injuries on the job all the time. Hell, the burns from your shell casings would probably hurt more."

"For the last time, Wes! I am not going to let you bite my arm 'just to see what it tastes like!'"

"Yikes," Nick shuddered as he switched channels again. "I knew these guys could be on the depraved side, but that one's in serious need of some sort of intervention…"

_*Kssh*_

There was no activity on the next channel from what the fox could tell, perhaps he had finally found one that was empty. He opted to wait anyways, just to be sure. After the awkward conversation he'd gotten himself into with Cackler, the last thing he needed was to raise even more suspicions. He already had way too many mammals trying to kill him, he didn't need to help make their job easier by drawing even more attention to himself. Two minutes ended up going by with no activity before Nick finally decided to go for it and keyed in on the radio.

"Hello? Anybody there?" he let go of the key and waited in silence, hoping for a response of some kind, a quiet voice in the back of his head reminding him that he was running out of options, that maybe he'd never find the others... Finally, that voice was silenced as static erupted from the radio, followed by a familiar voice.

"That you, Kid?"

Despite his soreness, the fox jumped with joy. _Thank the gods, that old bastard is alive!_

"Of course I'm alive, you ain't getting rid of me that easy," Finnick answered, perplexing the fox and causing him to stop mid-celebration.

"Wait...did I say that...or think it?" Nick asked.

"What the hell are you talking about? You practically shouted it into the radio," the old fox responded. "What's the matter with you? You land on your head or something after you fell out of the plane?"

_Wow, I really am starting to lose it...plus, I just ruined my chance to try and play it off cool._

"No it's nothing, I'm fine," Nick keyed back, feeling a little embarrassed. "Just...been in a weird headspace the last few hours, that's all. Forget about it, what happened with you and Marian?"

"I did my best, but Marian's gone," a hint of sadness was present in the desert fox's voice before it took on its normal grumpier tone. "Bailed out before she flew too low, but there's no salvaging her now, not with the way she lit up when she hit the ground. You owe me big time for that, by the way..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you can worry about that after we deal with the armed psycho's trying to hunt us down," Nick brushed off. Listening to the grumpy fox's unique brand of 'charm' made for a surprisingly refreshing change of pace. Several hours alone with his own far less appealing personal thoughts and doubts did a lot to make him appreciate the little things, or in this case, the angry insults and occasional threats coming from a little fox.

As positive of a development this had been, though, there was still one other mammal he had to find. "Listen, have you been able to reach Judy? I haven't seen or heard from her since she bailed out of the plane."

"No, haven't heard from the bunny, you're the first mammal I've actually spoken to since we got here, I've just been focused on heading north and avoiding Coastline's search parties," Finnick explained. "They didn't exactly seem to be in the most chatty of moods..."

"Nah, blowing shit up and shooting mammals tends to be more their speed," Nick joked. "As for Judy, though, don't think she has a radio to call us with. We didn't exactly have time to gear up when we first got here."

"That's putting it mildly. You didn't have time to grab one either," Finnick pointed out. "I grabbed mine before I bailed, but I'm guessing you swiped yours off some Coastline idiot."

"Pretty much," Nick said with a grin.

"Huh, so guess you've been paying attention after all," Finnick remarked. "Nice to know some of my advice managed to penetrate that thick skull of yours."

"Just that, your tips on how to pick up girls, and your various approaches to biting off faces," Nick snarked.

"Well at least you made sure to remember the important stuff," Nick could imagine the old fox's grin as he said it. "Anyways, enough messing around, we need to meet up, and soon, Coastline's crawling all over the place. If you're lucky, I might even not bite your face off for getting Marian shot to shit and just settle with some Coastline asshole, instead." Nick wasn't quite sure how serious the face biting threat was. Finnick usually was more bark than bite, and he'd never actually seen the old fox do it, but that plane did mean a lot to him...

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, then we can head north and search for Judy," Nick explained, hoping that if he didn't bring up the face biting part, then maybe Finn would just forget about it. "Any chance you know of a good landmark where we can meet up? It'll take forever to try and find each other in the jungle, assuming Coastline doesn't find us first..."

"I saw some old ruins a few miles from the ridges along the western side of the island when I was parachuting down, probably an abandoned outpost or something," Finnick explained. "Should be there soon. If you've been heading towards the crash site, it shouldn't take much longer for you to get there."

"Think I can figure out where those are," Nick said as he pulled out his map to get his bearings. "I'll meet you there."

"Sounds like a plan, Kid," Finnick answered. Nick was about to put the radio away when Finnick spoke up again. "Oh and Kid? Just a heads up, but Coastline's got way more than a pawful of scouting and search parties on the island."

"I know," Nick answered. "I saw the landing boats, looks like Dante and Cackler are going all in on this, they've brought a small army's worth of mercenaries and gear with them."

"You just watch yourself out there," Finnick warned, genuine concern in his voice. "You know they'll be gunning for you. Just remember what I taught you and don't take 'em lightly, these guys are playing for keeps. Besides, if anybody gets to kick the shit out of you, it's me!" His voice took on its more traditional mix of grumpy and cocky as he said the last part.

"Don't worry, Gramps, I won't let some Coastline asshole rob you of that pleasure," Nick chuckled. "Just try and stay out of trouble until I get there."

"Don't worry, Kid, unlike you, I actually know how to keep a low profile," Finnick shot back. "Just keep me posted if anything happens, I'd rather have a heads up if you wind up doing anything stupid."

"Too late for that last part, but I'll keep you posted of any future actions of the stupid or idiotic variety," Nick said before keying off the radio. He took one last look at the map, making sure he knew which way he was going, before putting it back in his pack and resuming his treck through the jungle.


	11. Heading Upriver

_Author Note: Hello again everyone! Time for another weekly update, we're starting to get close to call caught up now! The coming chapters are all short than that last one, so I probably won't have to split them apart like that again. Anyways, here's what would've been the 10th chapter, enjoy!_

* * *

"So that explosion and all that rumbling earlier, that was you?" Finnick asked over the radio. "Why am I not surprised…"

"No! No! Not me, that wasn't my fault," Nick defended. "I was just trying to get down, it was Coastline that blew up the damn cliff!"

"To try to get to you, right?"

"Well...yeah…" Nick had to admit, chaos and destruction seemed to follow him wherever he went, even more so than usual if the events of the last week were any indication. "But come on, who the hell brings down an entire cliffside just to kill one mammal?"

"Seriously? Have you never ran into mercenaries before or something? That sort of shit is pretty much the only thing they know how to do," Finnick responded. "As far as those morons are concerned, any problem that can't be fixed by shooting or blowing it up is one that can't be solved. Besides, can you really blame them? You're one of the smuggest assholes I know, it can't be _that_ surprising that someone would be willing to go to those kinds of lengths if it meant wiping that dumbass grin off your muzzle."

"Ouch, Gramps, bit of a low blow there," the red fox winced. It didn't take a genius to figure that the desert fox was in one of his sour moods, not that it was uncalled for or anything, given everything that had happened. "I'm guessing you're still bitter about Marian, then?"

"I'm gonna go ahead and just assume you know what a stupid-ass question that is," Finnick growled.

_That would be a yes, then..._

"Still, seems like Coastline's going pretty out of their way to ignore Dante's orders," Nick said, trying to steer the conversation back on topic. "He wants us alive and I'm pretty sure that's gonna be hard to do a mammal buried under tons of rock..."

"They don't seem like the types to think that far ahead, they're pretty dumb like that," Finnick guessed. "Besides, given how pissed that striped psycho bastard probably is at us, do you _really _think getting taken alive would be a good thing?"

"Point taken," Nick gulped, unpleasant memories of the fates of other mammals that had been dumb enough to try and get one over on the zebra flashing through his mind. "Still, sounds like Dante and Cackler might be having some 'creative differences' if the mercenaries aren't following orders."

"Wouldn't call that the most shocking of revelations, Kid, neither of them are known for playing well with others," Finnick pointed out. "Could just be that some of the mercenaries don't think bringing us in alive is worth the effort, it's a lot easier to search a mammal when they're dead, after all. That and they don't care what Dante wants."

"That was the impression I got when I was listening in on some of the channels..." Nick remarked. "They must _really_ want this city if they're still willing to work together in spite of these issues, guess Judy was right about how badly they needed each other. That's gonna make them a big problem for us."

"No shit, Kid, really? I managed to figure that last part out the first time they tried to kill us back at the temple," Nick could imagine Finnick rolling his eyes on the other end of the channel. "You got any other insightful observations to share? Maybe you're gonna tell me we're on an island, next? Or did you finally realize we're both foxes?"

"Okay, okay, enough already, I get it," Nick snapped back. "Geez, what is with you today? You're even sassier than normal."

"Well, I'm getting sick of waiting for your slow ass, for starters," Finnick explained. "Not exactly a big fan of sitting around in one spot while gods know how many Coastline goons are out there looking for us."

"Well as we've established, said goons dropped a damn cliff on me and I'm kinda walking it off, still." Admittedly, Nick was doing far better now, but none of that changed the fact that somebody had tried to bury him under a freaking cliff, so of course he was still feeling some of the ache from that whole ordeal. "So you'll have to forgive me for not being at my best."

"Just get your ass over here soon," Finnick responded. "The longer you take, the higher the chance some Coastline asshole finds us. I'd rather not wind up with either a bullet in the head or taken to Dante so that he can beat my ass."

"Calm down, I'm working on it," Nick said, double checking his bearings to make sure he was still heading towards the ruins where Finnick was waiting. Things had been rather uneventful ever since the cliff, but given all the crazy shit that had happened to him over the last few hours, he was just fine with that. Finnick had been keeping him company over the radio ever since they re-established contact, and while the old fox was not in the best of moods, it still felt good to finally have somebody to talk to. The desert fox's insults and the occasional threat to bite his face off made for far better conversation than his earlier 'chats' with Coastline, those talks tended to consist mostly of death threats and the occasional request for Nick to stick his head out, something he found far less intellectually stimulating. That being said, it wouldn't have killed the old fox to be a little more pleasant...at least...he liked to think it wouldn't.

"Hey, Kid?" Finnick's voice cracked over the radio again.

"Yeah?"

"Don't you start crying or anything just because I had some harsh words for you, it's the only way your dumb ass ever learns," Finnick said, sounding a little quieter than normal. "And while this whole shit show may be your fault, it's still good to know you haven't managed to get that worthless hide of yours shot yet."

A small smile curled onto Nick's muzzle. That was about as close to an apology as you'd get from the likes of Finnick. "Noted, thanks for that pep talk, buddy." The fox hesitated, considering just leaving it at that before changing his mind and keying the radio again, "Listen...Finn…"

"Shut up!"

"What?" Nick's ears perked up, confused by the sudden shift in tone. "Is this getting too personal for you or some-"

"Seriously, shut up! Before you get me killed," Finnick quietly growled. "Coastline patrol just showed up."

_Figures those Coastline assholes would ruin the moment..._

"Great...did they see you?"

"Don't think so, but looks like they've got all the exits covered, not gonna be able to get out without somebody noticing," Finnick whispered, the sound of rustling in the background. "They're searching the area, hurry up and get your ass over here before they find me!"

"On my way, just stay still and keep quiet," Nick responded, releasing the comm button and picking up his pace. If he was lucky, the patrol would just do a brief once over of the ruins and move on without noticing Finn, but those weren't odds he was willing to bet on.

He quickly pushed his way through the jungle, hopping over logs and the occasional small stream, determined to get to his partner before Coastline did. He wanted to call in and check how Finnick was doing, but he dared not risk it. The last thing either of them needed was for Finnick's radio to go off at the wrong moment and give his position away. No, things were dangerous enough already, he'd just have to trust that Finnick would either call him once the coast was clear or signal him if something went wrong.

_*Bang*_

The fox nearly jumped at the sound of a gunshot echoing through the jungle. He froze, dreading the worst as a tense silence hung in the air before a whole cacophony of weapons fire erupted along with the incomprehensible shouting of mammals in the distance.

_Or gunfire might go off, that'd be another sign that things have gone wrong..._

"Gramps, what's going on? You alright?!" Nick shouted into the radio, desperate for some news.

"Do I sound like I'm alright?!" the small fox angrily shouted back, the gunshots echoing both in the jungle and over the radio. Not an encouraging answer, but at least an angry fox was better than a dead one. "These bastards have me pinned down! Get your ass over here, now!"

Nick didn't even answer, abandoning all pretense of subtlety and caution as he started sprinting in the direction of the gunfire as fast he could. His sole focus at this point was getting to his partner before it was too late, nothing else mattered. The pain and soreness from his injuries, the branches and plants whipping at him as he tore through the jungle, all of those were just small annoyances to be brushed aside.

"Kid, I don't like being one of those 'any time, now' guys, but…any time, now!" Finnick badgered. "Only got so many tricks I can pull on these idiots before they start to catch on!"

"Just hang in there, buddy! I'm almost there," Nick answered back, finally starting to see ruins poking through the vegetation. The ruins were a walled off area with a few buildings inside, too small to be a town, from what Nick could gather, it was probably some sort of outpost. The ravages of time had clearly left their mark on the area with large chunks of the walls missing or having collapsed and the buildings within having either been reduced to piles of rubble or empty husks with grass and plants growing over what was left.

Once he reached the ruins, Nick climbed up a gap in one of the walls, reaching the top to find a bushpig mercenary already there. He quickly reached for his pistol only to stop once he realized the mammal was slumped over and not moving. Given the surprised look on the mercenary's lifeless face, Nick guessed that Finnick had been hiding up here and took the Coastline mammal by surprise when he climbed up to check it out.

"At least that's one less headache to deal with," Nick moved forward and peeked over the edge of the wall to the ruins down below where he saw two more mercenaries, a leopard and another bushpig, lying motionless on the ground. "Managed to nail at least three of these assholes on his own, pretty sharp skills, old timer."

Looking over the ruins, he saw a trio of mercenaries holed up behind the remains of one of the buildings, concentrating their fire on an old well. Nick managed to get a glimpse of Finnick's oversized ears poking over the edge of the well before sinking back down as a salvo of automatic weapons fire slammed into it. A moment later, the old fox poked his head out from the side, gripping a ridiculously large pawcannon. His partner may have been boxed in and pinned down, but he seemed to be intent on putting up one hell of a fight.

"Come on, you bastards! Is that all you got?" Finnick yelled as he fired at his adversaries, each shot cracking off with a near-thunderous roar. Even from the sound alone, it was obvious that the gun had some serious kick to it. "I'll take on every last one of you!" Nick had no clue how the hell that tiny fox could handle such a huge gun without breaking his arm.

Despite how grim things seemed, the situation also provided Nick with a perfect opportunity to turn things around. The mercenaries were too focused on Finnick to notice him, which meant he could get the drop on them. He glanced over at the dead bushpig, an idea beginning to form in his head. He quickly moved over and began searching the mammal, finding an extra magazine that fit his pistol as well as two grenades. "These should do nicely," he grinned as he attached one of the explosives to his belt and gripped the other in his paw.

He looked back down at the three mercenaries behind the ruined building as they traded shots with Finnick. A hare and a striped weasel were grouped close together on the left side of the ruin while a dark-brown sheep with thin-looking wool was by himself on the right. Picking his targets, Nick pulled the pin on the grenade and lobbed it right between the two smaller mammals. "Heads up!" he yelled as the explosive sailed towards them. He wasn't sure if they heard him, but he knew he definitely had grabbed their attention when they stopped what they were doing, both sets of ears swivelling to the sound of the beeping grenade as it landed between them. Their gazes followed shortly afterwards, ears and fur stiffening in alarm as they realized what it was.

Both mercenaries jumped in surprise and tried to sprint away right as the grenade went off, kicking up a cloud of dirt and sending the hapless weasel flying through the air until he crashed unceremoniously into the wall Nick was hiding on top of. The hare fared a bit better, managing to get a small amount of distance before the grenade went off, but the force of the explosion was still enough to trip him up and slam his head into the corner of some nearby rubble. The buck crashed into the ground hard and slowly rolled back and forth, clutching his head and groaning. He may have been luckier than the weasel, but he was still out of commission.

"About time you showed up," Finnick yelled after the explosion. "What the hell took you so long? You stop to pick daisies or something?"

"Oh you know me, Gramps," Nick shouted with from on top of the cracked wall. "Can't show up late to the party unless I come in with a _bang_!"

"If I find out you got here late because you were busy trying to think up that shitty one-liner, you're gonna wish you got buried under that cliff by the time I'm done with you!" Finnick shouted back as he fired at the remaining sheep mercenary. "Now quit being so proud of yourself and help me clear the rest of these guys out!" He moved back behind cover as the sheep returned fire.

"Fine, fine, but only because you asked so nicely," Nick replied, firing at the exposed sheep from behind. His shots went wide, but it still managed to spook the mammal into spinning around and recklessly return fire. Nick was ready though and had already moved back behind cover, the bullets slammed harmlessly into the solid stone wall. He leaned out again, seeing the alarmed ram try to run for a less exposed area only to get nailed in the back by a shot from Finnick as soon as he stepped out into the open. The sheep managed to let out a surprised bleat, briefly falling onto his knees before collapsing face down into the dirt and stone.

"You alright, Gramps?" Nick asked, hopping down from the wall now that the danger had passed.

"Nothing that a drink and a nice gal won't fix, not that I'm gonna find either on this damn island," Finnick responded, walking over to the wounded hare as he struggled to get back up. "For now, think I'll just settle with giving this asshole a good smack." He cracked his revolver over the buck's head, knocking him out cold.

"Night, night, little bunny," Nick joked, eyeing the now motionless mercenary.

"Pretty sure he was a hare," Finnick corrected, looking unimpressed.

"Eh, doesn't sound have the same ring to it," Nick shrugged.

"Gods, I don't know what's gonna happen first, either you'll get me killed with jobs like these, or your dumb jokes will give me a stroke..." Finnick growled, his ears suddenly perking and stance becoming more alert as he finished the last part. "Might be the former depending on how this next round goes."

Nick tilted his head in confusion. "Next round? What are you talk-"

"They're over there!" a voice called out.

"Shit, more of them!" Nick quickly dove for cover as more Coastline mammals came rushing through a broken section of wall on the other end of the ruins.

"Godsdamn sons of bitches," Finnick yelled as he fired at the advancing mercenaries, catching a zebra in the chest as he was trying to charge them. "How many of these assholes did Dante and Cackler bring?"

"Too many," Nick yelled back as he fired at the mercenaries, breaking their charge and forcing them to take cover.

"I told you this job was gonna be more trouble than it was worth," Finnick shouted as he ducked down before the mercenaries could start returning fire.

"How was I supposed to know they'd beat us to the island?" Nick yelled, crouched behind a makeshift wall of rubble as it was being riddled with bullets. "It's not like I gave them the coordinates!"

"Okay, now I _know_ you were dropped on your head," Finnick growled back, opening up the chamber in his revolver and sliding in more cartridges. "You know damn well that all it takes is one slip up! They got the jump on us back at the temple because your dumb ass was too reckless and didn't pay attention to the details! And what do you know? Here we are again, stranded in the middle of nowhere with gods knows how many assholes shooting at us because you never think this shit through and it always blows up in our faces!"

"Well...I may have hit my head once...or more...I've kinda lost track at this point…" Nick conceded. "But I wasn't being reckless! I made damn sure they wouldn't be able to find us! I don't know how the hell they beat us here, but it wasn't because of me!"

"Oh, that is just a load of crap!_"_

"What the hell does that mean?" Nick responded incredulously. "You know what the safehouse was for, right? You think I just wanted to spend four days straight seeing all the different ways you could scowl at me? That was so we could lay low and get Coastline off our backs!"

"I'm not talking about _that,_ you dumbass," Finnick yelled back, pointing towards the mercenaries on the opposite end of the ruins. "I'm talking about _that!"_

"What?" Nick peeked over the cover to see what Finnick was pointing at and immediately regretted it. One of the Coastline mercenaries, an oryx, was standing on top of a somewhat intact building ruin, a six-chambered Marekor grenade launcher in his hooves and aimed right at them.

"Oh...that…"

He briefly saw the oryx fire off a round before slamming down as low as he could. He didn't see the round explode, but he sure as hell felt it when it exploded against his cover, the force from the blast wave rocking him and his ears going flat against his head in an attempt to drown out the noise. He was left disoriented from the blast, a constant ringing in his ears while everything else sounded distant and muted. He didn't even have time to think before he was rocked even harder when a second round struck his cover, showering him in bits of rock and blowing away a good portion of the rubble he was hiding behind.

Aware that there probably wasn't enough cover left to protect him from another grenade round, the fox made a break for what he hoped was Finnick's cover. He dove through the air and slammed down on the ground next to his partner, paws covering his head as he felt the force of a third grenade round blow away the rest of his vacated spot. Finnick was yelling something, but it was too muted for him to make out over the constant ringing. All he could do was focus on trying to shelter himself as several more rounds exploded against their cover. Despite the beating, this rubble proved to be far more durable, protecting the two of them from the worst of the barrage with only a small amount of damage to show for it.

"Godsdammit, why the hell do the bad guys never play fair?!" Nick yelled as the explosions finally stopped and the ringing started to fade.

"Because why the hell would they?!" Finnick shouted, his voice sounding far less muted than before.

"Because...shut up!" Nick tried to respond. He liked to think he was still too dazed from the explosions to come up with anything better. In fact, if anybody asked, that was going to be his excuse, it's not like there was any way to prove that it wasn't, after all.

"Nice comeback, Kid" Finnick shot back sarcastically as he peeked over the cover. "Hope you have something better than that for these guys, or we ain't gonna last long enough to share that lame comeback with the bunny!"

Shaking off most of the daze, Nick briefly poked his head over the cover to see what Finnick was talking about. Left of their position, near one of the large walls, a hippo was advancing with a zebra and a hyena on his flanks. To the right, on the opposite end of the ruins, two goats and a cheetah were also approaching. As if that wasn't discouraging enough, the oryx on top of the ruined building was loading more rounds into his grenade launcher in preparation for another salvo. "Don't suppose they'll be considerate enough to give us some time to come up with a plan?"

"Do they ever?" Finnick grumbled, looking down at his revolver and checking to see that it was loaded. "Looks like we're gonna have to just make it up as we go."

"Always seems to go that way," Nick sighed, loading a fresh magazine into his pistol. "Any regrets if this goes sideways?"

"You mean any more than it already has?" Finnick spun the cylinder of his revolver. "Mainly that I won't get to beat your ass myself for getting us into this mess because some Coastline assholes will get to instead."

"Awww, you jealous? Don't worry, I'm sure they'll be dying to use you as a punching bag as well," Nick joked as Finnick shot him an irritated glare. If he was gonna die, at least he got to annoy his partner one last time, one had to appreciate the small victories.

"Can't believe I'm seriously rooting for these Coastline punks, now," Finnick groaned, getting himself ready.

"Well, wouldn't be the first time this ended in disappointment for you," Nick said, chambering a round as he nodded towards his partner. "Ready?"

"Let's just get this over with before it becomes even more awkward," Finnick nodded back, rising up to return fire.

Nick followed suit, directing his fire towards the oryx with the grenade launcher. He managed to land several hits, the oryx stumbling backwards and spinning as one of the shots nailed him in the leg. To the fox's surprise, the oryx's weapon started going off, firing its full load of grenade rounds in random directions while the mammal spun, either that weapon was faulty or the oryx had reflexively pulled down on the trigger when he'd been hit. One round must've gone right into the surface the oryx was standing on because the ground suddenly exploded beneath the mercenary's feet, sending him flying off the building in an almost comical manner. Another errant round struck the wall right above the mercenary hippo group on the left. They had ducked down and shielded themselves once they noticed the grenade launcher had started going off out of control, failing to notice that the wall above them had been hit and was breaking apart. The three of them started to turn around once they heard the sound of crumbling stone, having just enough time to finally realize that the wall was collapsing before it fell on top of them, burying the whole group beneath a pile of stone rubble. The other group had reacted similarly to the out of control grenade launcher, abandoning their advance and running for cover.

"Oh, ho, ho! They're gonna be feeling that one in the morning!" Nick yelled excitedly. "That was just the perfect shot!" Finnick just stared at him with an unimpressed look on his face. "Oh come on, Gramps, even you have to admit that was awesome!"

"That was a lucky shot, and you know it!" Finnick growled, firing at one of the goats from the surviving group when he peeked up over the cover, the small fox's attack forcing him back down.

"Yeah, a lucky ass shot that took out half the damn group," the red fox bragged. "I know the idea of giving somebody a genuine compliment scares you to death, but even _you_ have to admit it takes a special kind of badass to pull that stunt off."

Finnick just rolled his eyes at the boasting fox's comment. "With a head that big, I can't believe these idiots haven't managed to hit you yet, they've gotta have the worst aim in the godsdamn world..."

"Listen up, foxes," one of the mercenaries yelled, breaking up Nick and Finn's little 'discussion.' "We have you surrounded!"

"No you don't," Finnick barked out, calling the mammals bluff. There was no way these guys would be trying to talk if they had the advantage, not when their entire reputation was built on their tendency to resolve disputes through the application of bullets and high-grade explosives.

There was a brief pause before the Coastline mercenary spoke up again. "Uhhh...we...have you...partly...surrounded."

"Wow, these guys suck at negotiating," Nick smirked. He looked over at Finnick who just gave a non-committal grunt.

"We're gonna give you _one_ chance to come out with your paws up," the mercenary continued, having apparently run out of ideas. "Or we're gonna come in and get you ourselves!"

"Aww, well would you look at that? Mighty convenient of them to start taking Dante's 'take 'em alive' orders more seriously now that things aren't going their way, don't you think?" Nick snickered quietly to Finnick before shouting back an answer.

"Gee, that's a tough one, guys, I mean you clearly have things so under control here, right?" Nick pulled the second grenade off his belt and quietly passed it to Finnick. "What do you think, Gramps?"

Finnick silently nodded before turning and shouting his answer to the mercenaries. "You know, I think we like it just fine where we are! You boys want us? Feel free to come over and say 'hi' in person!" He quietly started making his way along the cover and disappeared around a corner.

"Alright then, fine! You _braks_ had your chance! Any last words?"

"Just one," Nick answered. "Thanks!"

"...Thanks?" the mercenary asked after an awkwardly long pause, probably uncertain if he'd heard that right.

"Yeah, thanks!" Nick repeated.

"For what?"

"For letting me keep you nice and distracted," Nick answered smugly.

"Distracted?" the mammal questioned. "What are you-"

He was cut off as a grenade came sailing out of nowhere, the beeping explosive rolling right into the middle of the mercenary group.

"Ah…" was all he managed to say before the explosive went off in the three mercenaries' faces, small chunks of stone getting thrown into the air as all three mercenaries were knocked backwards, crashing into rubble and the nearby walls of ruins. What followed afterwards was a tense silence as the two foxes waited to see if there were any more surprises waiting for them.

"That all of them?" Finnick finally asked, poking his head up from the vantage point he had managed to sneak to while Nick had been distracting the group.

"Looks like it," Nick answered, looking around and not seeing any more signs of Coastline. "Nice throw, Gramps!"

"Whatever," Finnick said, waving Nick off as he made his way back to him.

"Still upset about Marian?" Nick asked, raising a brow. "Normally, you'd be more pleased with yourself after pulling off a stunt like that. 'Kicked their asses', 'I've still got it!', 'Way to show those punks' something like that."

"Yeah I'm still pissed about Marian, thanks for reminding me of that, by the way," he bared his teeth at Nick. "But more importantly, you should be upset too, these Coastline assholes are probably crawling all over the place by now! At this rate, Dante and Cackler's goons'll probably stumble onto Henosia through sheer dumb luck before we come even close to finding it. We just got here and this job's already a bust!"

"Calm down, we've always managed to beat the odds before, we can do it again," Nick assured this partner. "Let's just take this one step at a time. Starting with getting the hell out of here before anybody else decides to show up to see what all that fuss was about."

"First smart thing you've said all day," Finnick agreed, turning to look north. "You said the bunny touched down somewhere on the northern half of the island?"

"That's my guess," Nick shrugged as he bent over to check a downed mercenary, pocketing a grenade and an extra magazine for his gun.

"Then a guess is gonna have to do," Finnick started walking north out of the ruins. "On the way here, I saw a river up this way that leads north, probably as good of a path to take as any. Now come on! we've wasted enough time already!"

"You're telling me," Nick nodded, getting up and following Finnick into the jungle.

* * *

"You sure this is a good idea, Gramps?" Nick asked as they hiked along the river. "I mean, I know that most of the mammals in Coastline are probably idiots and all, but watching the rivers seems like_ Patroling 101_."

"Nah, we should be fine for now," Finnick waved dismissively. "If there's any other Coastline in the area, they'd be hoofing it over to the ruins."

"Yeah, well keep an eye out anyways," Nick suggested. "Had mammals try to kill me on three separate occasions just today, not the kind of streak I want to keep going."

"Knowing you, that streak is probably gonna continue anyways," Finnick said. Nick hated the fact he was probably right. It really was starting to feel like he couldn't go more than an hour without getting shot at or having to climb something precariously high. That sort of thing was frankly quite exhausting, and it was starting to take a toll on both of them. He was already starting to pant, and Finnick wasn't doing much better.

"Mam, I'm panting like a hooker in church," Finnick grumbled.

Nick just stared at the desert fox in disbelief, not sure he heard him right. "You brought a hooker to church?"

"Why not?" Finnick shrugged, stepping over to the shore of the river and splashing some water into his face. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too long, they couldn't really afford to waste too much time. Somebody probably heard the ruckus they had made back at the ruins, and even if that wasn't the case, other mammals were bound to come looking for those patrols eventually when they inevitably failed to report in. Sure, they'd probably check out the ruins first as Finnick said, but they'd eventually figure out that the two of them had started heading north, and Nick would've preferred they be as far away as possible once those Coastline goons finally figured that out.

The treasure hunter looked down at Finnick again to see how he was doing only for his attention to be drawn to the holstered revolver on the desert fox's side. Finnick had always possessed a 'bigger is better' mentality when it came to weapons, but the size of that thing was just ridiculous. He'd always figured that mentality was the small fox's way of compensating for his size, that and his generally aggressive manner. Not that he'd ever bring that sort of thing up, knowing Finn, it'd probably be a one-way ticket to Facebitesville.

"Knock it off," Finnick snapped, interrupting Nick's thoughts.

"Knock what off?" Nick tilted his head in confusion.

"You know what," Finnick glared.

"I really don't…"

"Come on, Kid. You never stare at another mammal's piece," Finnick patted his revolver. "That's just common knowledge."

Nick was starting to wonder if maybe there was something in the water, the heat and humidity had started to mess with Finnick's brain, or maybe the smaller fox was just getting too old.

"What? I don't...how...you know what, never mind, I don't even want to know what you mean by that," Nick waved off. "Listening to your stories feels like a game of Tundran Roulette half the time, and it's just not gonna be the same without Carrots around nearly dying from embarrassment while listening to the whole thing."

"If that's what you think Tundran Roulette is like, then you've clearly never played the game," Finnick chuckled.

"Okay, now _that's _a story I want to hear about...later," Nick pointed at Finnick's revolver. "I'm just wondering what is with that damn pawcannon of yours, it's nearly the size of your head! I mean, seriously, how the hell can you fire that thing without breaking your arm?"

"What can I say? Seeing a spinner has its perks. You certainly get one hell of a workout," Finnick winked.

"Alright, alright, I get it, the old fox can still get tail," Nick rolled his eyes. "Save it for later, you can shock Judy with that little tidbit once we find her. If nothing else, it'll be fun to see how pink her fur gets."

"Finally, something to actually look forward to," Finnick laughed as the two of them resumed their trek up the river.

Nick tried to stay alert, searching for any signs of nearby patrols while his ears flicked in every direction for anything out of the ordinary, but he never saw anything unusual and all his ears ever picked up was the sound of rushing water and wildlife. He would occasionally sniff the air, but it didn't yield much either beyond the smell of freshwater and the various scents of the jungle. Despite how excessive it seemed to be, he kept at it since it helped to keep him occupied from certain thoughts he'd rather not dwell on. But eventually, one of said thought started nagging him with increasing intensity.

"Hey, Gramps," Nick spoke up, finally having enough. "You think Judy will be fine, right?"

"Of course she'll be fine, what kind of stupid question is that?"

"Well, she's a reporter," Nick started. "I don't know what kind of reporters _you've_ met, but the ones I know of tend to be rather...unseasoned...when it comes to things like being stranded on uncharted islands and hunted by trigger-happy lunatics. But hey, that's just me talking."

"Quit your worrying, she may be green, but in case you forgot, she was a cop," Finnick assured his partner.

"Wait, what?" Nick asked in surprise. "Were you listening in from the cockpit? How?"

"Big ears, idiot," Finnick stated flatly, flicking one of them with his paw to emphasise the point. "Would think you'd have noticed something like that after how long we've worked together."

"Right...dumb question…" Nick sighed. "Still, she was only a cop for two days, not exactly a hardened veteran of the force we're talking about."

"What's your point? She said she was top of her class, remember? She got kicked out because she had a problem with authority," Finnick reminded him. "You've seen her in action, you know she can handle herself just fine when push comes to shove, she certainly managed to kick your ass on more than one occasion."

"Fair point…" Nick conceded. Those weren't what he'd call his proudest moments, but still, he couldn't deny that bunny had a mean right hook and an even meaner roundhouse.

"What's going on with you, Kid?" the desert fox asked. "You may be an idiot, but you're always sure of yourself to an obnoxious as hell degree. It's not like you to start worrying and having doubts on the job."

"Doubts? No, no doubts, why would I have doubts?" Nick answered just a bit too quickly. "I mean...it's not like I spent the last several hours after the crash worrying that you guys had been killed and blaming myself or anything...No...that'd be crazy…"

_Nice...way to totally not sound crazy, Nick..._

"Uh...huh…" Finnick raised an eyebrow as he glared up at his partner. "This ain't exactly the time or place for a therapy session, don't even have any booze to take the edge off. So I'm gonna just blow past all that and go straight to the part where I tell you to stop being a little bitch and get your head in the game. We sure as hell can't afford to deal with personal crap right now, so just stay focused on finding the bunny and making sure we don't get jumped by Coastline again."

"Yeah...yeah, I can do that," Nick gulped, focusing on the hike ahead. "You know, Gramps, you're bedside manner really is the worst."

"And yet, you know it would be so much worse if I was trying to be nice," Finnick grinned.

"Okay, fair point," Nick admitted. "The thought of you being nice and respectful scares the hell out of me."

"Really?" Finnick laughed. "Guess that means I'm doing something right."

As the two treasure hunters continued their trek, they started to hear the sound of falling water, growing in volume the further upriver they went.

"You hear that?" Finnick asked.

"Yup," Nick's ears swivelled in the direction of the noise up the river. "Waterfall up ahead."

It wasn't much further until they found themselves at the base of the waterfall in question, water dropping from a cliff above and pooling in a small basin before flowing down the path they had been hiking up. The air was refreshingly misty, the droplets of water making their fur just cool and damp enough to alleviate their exhaustion from the jungle heat. The cliff was far smaller than the one Nick had scaled earlier that day, but it seemed to extend pretty far in both directions, blocking their path north. That being said, the moss covered rocks and ledges looked pretty climbable for any mammal who knew what they were doing.

"Guess it's time to start climbing again," Nick cracked his knuckles and reached for the closest ledge. He only managed to get a few meters up before Finnick cut in.

"Uhh, Kid? I might've been able to do that twenty years ago…" he called from below.

"What?" Nick looked back down to see that Finnick was still standing at the base of the cliff. "Come on, after all that bragging about the spinner? Not to mention the way you took care of those two Coastline jokers back at the temple? You really expect me to buy that you can pull that off, but you can't handle a little climbing?"

"Don't try and goad me, Kid," Finnick growled. "Whacking some idiot in the balls is one thing, trying to climb up _that_," he pointed at the cliff, "while worn out as hell from all the hiking and shooting galleries you've dragged me into is something else entirely!"

"Alright, alright, fine, you make a good point," Nick admitted, climbing back down. "The cigars and booze certainly aren't doing you any favours, either."

"Hey!" Finnick snapped. "I was saying what my limits are, that wasn't an invitation to start knocking my godsdamn hobbies!"

"Interesting definition of 'hobbies,' but fine, I'll lay off," Nick said as he touched down on the ground. "Okay then, so...what, do we look for a way around or something?"

Finnick shook his head, "No way, we have no clue how far this cliff goes, could take us hours to find another way around." He gestured back to the path along the river they had been following, "Dante and Cackler already have a huge edge over us in gear and numbers. If we're gonna stand any chance of keeping up with them, then we sure as hell can't afford to waste time screwing around on this cliff."

"So...do I carry you up on my back then?" Nick proposed. The menacing glare Finnick shot him in response told him exactly what his partner thought of that idea. "Okay, never mind, then…"

"How about this," Finnick proposed, "you go on ahead and find the bunny while I focus on scanning the channels Coastline is using and see what I can learn. Might give us a better idea of what we're up against and help track their movements. I don't know if you've noticed, but those idiots don't exactly have the best radio discipline."

"Wait, seriously?" Nick asked in disbelief. "After all the crap we went through to find each other, you're suggesting we just go ahead and split up?"

"Quit being so dramatic, you'll have me on speaker so you'll hardly be alone," Finnick said as he gestured to his radio. "Besides, you'll be able to move faster on your own, and we're gonna need every edge we can get if we're aiming to actually salvage something from this mess of a job."

"But are you sure you can handle this on your own, Gramps?"

"Okay, first off, a bit late to be asking that sort of thing when you've already dragged me all the way out to this godsforsaken island and left us without any other options," Finnick scowled. "And second, don't question my skills. If I say I can do something, you'd sure as hell better believe I can!"

"Alright, fine, don't need to turn this into an attack against your ego," Nick relented. "Just be careful, you're not gonna take it as a personal slight if I say that, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, you be careful, too," Finnick nodded. "I'd tell you not to do anything stupid, but we both know how pointless that would be, so I'll just settle with telling you not to get yourself killed. Still need to kick your ass at some point down the road and I sure as hell won't be able to if you break your idiot neck or some Coastline asshole blows your brains out."

"Well thanks for the advice Gramps, you know how much I _love_ having my idiot neck intact and my brains inside my dumb fox head," Nick smirked as he turned around and prepared to start climbing the cliff again. "Take care," he said with a wave behind him.

"Yeah, you too, Kid," Finnick said with a wave of his own as he started making his way along the base of the cliff.

Nick couldn't help but feel a pit starting to form in his stomach as he looked up towards the top of the cliff. Bad things tended to happen whenever he climbed; his paws often slipped, ledges seemed to like breaking, and assholes would often get a kick out of using him for target practice, hell, apparently some of them would just try to blow up the cliff he was climbing if they were in a bad enough mood. Part of him wanted to just ignore Finn's advice and look or another way around, but he knew that wasn't an option. The old timer was right, they couldn't afford delays, not with how badly outnumbered they were. He'd just have to suck it up, start climbing and hope for the best.

"Gods...please let this actually go smoothly for once..."


	12. The Nocturnal Fortress

"Wow...that actually went pretty smoothly...for once," Nick panted in relief, catching his breath at the top of the waterfall.

"There's gotta be something wrong with the radio," Finnick said over the channel. "Cause I coulda sworn you actually sounded disappointed."

"Not disappointed, just...wasn't expecting it is all," Nick explained. "Seems like every move I've made since the start of this job either ends with me getting punched, kicked, shot at, or nearly plummeting to my death. Feels weird for something to actually go right for once…"

"Well I wouldn't worry about that too much," Finnick replied. "I'm sure you'll find a way to screw things up again soon enough, and then you'll be right back in your comfort zone of scrambling from one shit show to the next."

"Gee, thanks a bunch, Gramps," Nick responded flatly. "You always know how to keep me from being able to enjoy the moment…"

"You're damn right I do, you always pull dumb shit when you get too cocky, that's how we ended up in this mess in the first place," Finnick growled. "Now hurry up and find the bunny, I'll keep an eye on the Coastline channels and let you know what I find. Just try not to get yourself killed in the meantime."

"You already used that one."

"Yeah, well I'm telling you again," Finnick barked back. "You were always crap at paying attention, might actually sink into that thick skull of yours if I beat it into you enough."

Nick just rolled his eyes, "Talk to you later, Gramps." He stuck the radio onto his belt and started making his way north up the river again. He'd managed to give Coastline the slip for now, and that waterfall would probably slow them down a good amount whenever they found it. At the very least, Nick had managed to buy himself a decent amount of time to focus on finding the bunny.

Eventually, his partner called back. Given how focused Nick had been on searching for any sign of Judy, he wasn't sure exactly how long it had been. "Hey, Kid, you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," Nick answered. "Manage to find anything, yet?"

"Not much," Finnick started. "Can't seem to get anything out of these Coastline channels. They're being way more tight muzzled than earlier, it's like something's put them on high alert."

Nick froze up, he had a pretty good feeling he knew why the radio channels might have become so secure. "Oh…."

"Oh?" Finnick questioned. "What do you mean 'oh'?"

"It's...uhh...probably nothing…" the red fox lied.

"Fat chance! I know your 'oh's', Kid, that wasn't a nothing 'oh,' that 'oh' was _definitely _something!"

"Said 'oh' three times there…" Nick tried to deflect.

"You did something stupid, didn't you?" Finnick pressed, refusing to take the bait.

"Uhhh...I allowed Coastline to get the jump on us?" Nick tried, hoping that might satisfy the smaller fox. It didn't.

"You did something _else _, stupid," Finnick growled impatiently.

_Why did I even think that would work? _

"So...promise you won't get mad?" Nick gulped, pretty certain what the answer would be.

"I feel like saying that just guarantees I _will _get mad," Finnick answered. That was more or less what Nick had been expecting. He braced himself for the inevitable chewing out that was to follow.

"Okay...I maaaaay have stumbled into Cackler's channel when I was searching for you on the radio…" Nick awkwardly began to explain. "So...it _might _be possible that he and Coastline know we've been listening in on the radio…"

An awkward silence hung heavily in the air as Nick waited for a response. He figured that Finnick was probably getting through a fit of enraged cursing on the other end, only to discover that the small fox hadn't even started yet when he keyed back in and began shouting over the channel. "You stupid mother fu-"

_*SCREEEEEEECH* _

"Ah! Gods!" Nick slammed his paws over his ears, trying to drown out the high pitched shrill of feedback that had erupted from the radio. "What the hell, Gramps! That hurt!"

"Good, it should have!" the enraged desert fox barked over the radio. "Do you know how much harder this makes things for me? As if I didn't already have enough crap to deal with because of you! I swear of all the dumb stunts I have to put up with from you, this takes the godsdamn cake. And not just any cake, I'm talking...like...those huge ones with the strippers inside!"

"You know, you go to _really_ weird places when you're angry," Nick interjected, hoping it might cool his partner's temper a bit.

"Godsdammit…" Finnick growled, still irritated it seemed, but at least he wasn't yelling anymore. "There can't possibly be enough treasure in the entire world to make putting up with your crap worth it."

"Did you at least manage to get anything of use?" Nick asked, trying to steer the conversation back on track.

"Like I said, not much, thanks to you," Finnick started to answer. "Did manage to get some info on a couple of camps and makeshift outposts they've set up across the island, got one pretty close by from the sounds of it. Should be pretty lightly guarded, so I'm gonna go check it out, see if there's any intel there we can use."

"Woah, woah, woah! Hold on! You're seriously going to try and raid a Coastline outpost?" Nick asked in disbelief, unable to stop his head from tilting in confusion. "That's insane! If they catch you, you'll be as good as dead!"

"Yeah, well we don't really have any other option since you decided to go and share beauty tips with that hyena asshole, Cackler," Finnick growled back. "So it's that or just go in blindly and hope Coastline doesn't get the jump on us...again."

As much as Nick hated to admit it, his partner was right. They needed every edge they could get, and right now, that meant Finnick sneaking into one of their outposts to learn what he could. "Just...be careful, Gramps. Try not to get into trouble."

"No promises," Finnick answered back before the radio went dead.

Nick sighed and stuck the radio back on his belt, groaning in frustration. Just as he thought he might finally be on top of things, fate had to go and throw him a curveball. "Why do things always have to be so complicated?" he whined as he resumed his trek up the river.

* * *

"Really missing that river now..." Nick panted as he pushed his way uphill through the seemingly endless jungle. He had followed the river for a while, but eventually, it started to turn to the east and up into the mountains. As appealing as sticking to it would've been, he knew he had to keep heading north if he was going to find that bunny. So with a heavy heart, he had bid the river farewell and continued onwards through the jungle.

He was making good progress, more than he would've if Finnick had been with him, but like an overly attached vixen, the island was really starting to wear him down. Forcing himself uphill through jungle vegetation in such hot and humid air was really starting to test his limits. His tail hung limply, dragging along the ground and the humidity was starting to turn his fur into a mess of frizz and tangles. He almost wanted to just say to hell with the bunny and go back to that river, that sweet, misty, refreshing river...Oh what he would give to just be able to dunk his head in that cool, wonderful water, just for a minute, that's all. Maybe he could go back, just for a quick dunk. The reporter could wait for just a bit longer, what harm would that cau-

"Hey, Kid. You there?" Finnick's voice cracked over the radio, snapping Nick out of his trance. Finally, something to take his mind off that river that totally didn't almost tempt him into abandoning the bunny.

The fox eagerly fumbled for the radio and keyed into the channel. "I'm here Gramps. Find something?"

"Yeah, managed to swipe some maps and intel from their camp. Snuck in when the one guard they had there went for a piss."

"Thank the gods those guys are such idiots when Cackler isn't around," Nick said with a smirk.

"Tell me about it." Finnick agreed, the audible sound of shuffling papers suggesting he was flipping through them. "Looks like they got an entire army crawling across the island, no surprise given what you saw. Brought a lot of hardware too, they got boats, a chopper or two, some APC's, a bunch of jeeps and trucks, let me take a look at the rest..."

"Hold on, back up a minute there, did you say _trucks _?" Nick interrupted. "Where the hell are they planning on driving them? Nobody's been on this island since Wilde and the Blackhorns clashed over it and that was over four hundred years ago. If there were any usable roads, they'd all be completely overgrown by now."

"I have no idea, Kid, but assuming the maps I swiped aren't a load of crap, they found a way," Finnick answered. "They're moving jeeps and trucks all over the island; practically rush hour in the Rainforest District from the looks of it. Must be some intact pathways they're using, that or somebody's been keeping them clear since before the godsdamn Stone Age…"

Nick was curious about why these supposed pathways on the island had remained clear for hundreds, if not thousands of years. By all accounts, those trucks and jeeps should've been as practical as oversized paperweights, yet Finnick was telling him that Dante and Cackler had found a way to move them across the island. It seemed like the kind of mystery that would probably come back to bite him in the ass eventually if he didn't figure it out. Unfortunately, said mystery would have to wait since this revelation also presented another problem.

"Great...that means they'll be able to cover ground even faster than we thought…"

"Which means our timetable just got a hell of a lot shorter. You'd better get your tail moving and find that bunny, fast," Finnick suggested. "I didn't come all this way just to let that striped asshole Dante, swipe the score.."

"You and me both, Gramps." Nick nodded. "You keep going through that intel and surfing the channels, might be able to discern more from them now that we've got some of their intel to work with. I'll keep pushing to the northern edge of the island and see if I can find where Judy landed, it shouldn't be...much...farther…" He began trailing off as the ground finally started to level out and he spotted a tower with a collection of ruined structures in the distance. The tower itself wasn't what caught his attention though, it was the rather out of place parachute dangling from the top.

"Uhh...Kid? You there?" Finnick cut in "You just kinda trailed off."

"Wha? Oh, right!" Nick scrambled to answer. "I think I might've just found where our missing bunny landed. There's a ruined tower here with one of our parachutes dangling from the top chamber."

"Seriously?" a surprised Finnick asked. "Well, why the hell are you wasting your time talking to me, then? Get your ass up there and find her!"

"On it!" Nick keyed off the radio and made a break for the tower, his exhaustion seemingly having melted away now that his search for the reporter might actually be going somewhere.

As decrepit as the tower seemed, it was still relatively intact. Nick discovered some pretty big gaps in the stairs leading up to the top chamber upon entering the tower, but not enough to hinder an experienced treasure hunter like himself. He quickly scampered up to the top and found a partially-intact chamber, large chunks of the chamber walls missing and laying bare a view of the jungle below as it stretched out towards the ocean. He saw that the parachute was dangling from a hole in the tower roof. It looked relatively intact apart from a few tears, but there was no bunny to be found, just an empty harness. Judy may have landed there, but it was clear she hadn't stuck around.

"Shit…" Nick muttered in disappointment as he keyed the radio back on. "Gramps, you reading me?"

"Loud and clear, Kid," Finnick answered back. "So what's up? You find the bunny?"

"Nah, the parachute's empty," Nick shook his head. "No sign of her anywhere."

"Oh…" Finnick started, sounding uncertain. "So...what's that mean? Is that good or bad?"

"It _means _we're back to square one," Nick answered in frustration. "No bunny, and no clue where she went."

"Damn," Finnick growled in a disappointed tone. "You don't think she headed south towards the crash site, do you?"

The vulpine treasure hunter shook his head. "No way, she'd know that's where Coastline would be heading first. She's a smart bunny like that."

"Can be a pretty dumb bunny, too," Finnick pointed out.

"True, but now where it counts," Nick started. "We just need to figure out where she went, I…wait a minute…"

"What's up?" Nick's mentor asked over the radio, but the red fox didn't answer. His attention had been captured by something on the side of one of the chamber's intact walls, there was some sort of scribble, and it was something he never expected to see.

"Is that a...carrot?" He stepped over and took a closer look at the scribbled drawing. "Right..._ Carrots _…" He noticed that it was sitting right on top of a small pile of loose stones that didn't seem to match any of the rubble or stonework in the tower.

"Gonna go ahead and guess that's not a coincidence…" Nick quickly started grabbing the stones and tossing them aside. Once he'd cleared the area, he saw a single word written on the floor.

_'_ _TERRACE'_

Peering out through the gaps in the tower, the fox looked at the nearby ruined buildings. Most of them were little more than hollowed out shells or piles of rubble at this point, but there was one relatively intact building of note with a wide terrace at the top, no doubt it was the building Judy's message had been referring to.

"Sly little bunny," Nick grinned.

"Helloooo? Kid? You there?" Finnick's voice cracked impatiently on the radio. "I swear if that idiot slipped and broke his leg…"

"I'm here," Nick answered back.

"What the hell were you doing?" Finnick asked in an irritated tone. "You just zoned out again and I couldn't get a hold of you." Nick really needed to stop doing that. The small fox definitely wasn't one to be left in the dark, at least, not if Nick wanted to avoid getting smacked upside the head. For such a small guy, Finn had a surprisingly good reach.

"Yeah, yeah, just calm down already, you'll get your answer," Nick shot back sarcastically. "I was just checking out a lead, found a carrot."

There was a brief pause before Finnick answered. "...A...carrot?"

"Something Judy left behind," Nick explained. "Sounds like she wants me to go check out some nearby building."

"Think she's hiding out over there?"

"Doubt it," Nick guessed. "She probably would've noticed me heading up the tower if she was. But I'm willing to bet there's some sort of hint as to where she went. If I want to find _Carrots,_ then I'll have to follow the _carrot!"_

_Oh, wow...did I really just say that?_

There was an awkwardly long pause as Nick waited for Finnick to say something, only to be met with continued silence. Finally, he keyed in, pretty certain why his partner was so quiet. "So...did that sound as lame as I think it did?" He really hoped the radio would hide the embarrassment in his voice.

There was another awkward pause before Finnick answered. "Worse...probably worse."

Nick awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah...that sounded a lot better in my head."

"Yet another reason why you're such an idiot," Finnick growled. "Now go check that lead out. And be sure to keep me in the loop this time, not a fan of being kept in the dark."

"I know, Gramps," Nick groaned wearily. "I haven't forgotten about the cake incident. I'll be sure to keep you posted."

"Make sure you actually do, for once," Finnick said before signing off.

Nick quickly made his way back down the stairway and crossed over towards the ruined building with the terrace. Upon entering, he saw that the stairway on the first floor had collapsed, but it didn't take much to find a few pawholds and pull himself up to the next floor. From there, he found an intact staircase that took him to the terrace at the top.

"Alright, Fluff, you lead me here, now what am I supposed to find?" Nick rubbed his paws together, looking back and forth across the terrace. There were several gaps in the floor where parts of the ruin had started to give, but it seemed pretty intact all things considered. He carefully worked his way around, making sure the floor wasn't going to collapse on him as he searched the terrace for anything of interest. Despite his efforts, all he seemed to find were broken stones and scattered rubble.

"Did I miss something?" Nick pondered, as he stared back up at the tower he had just come from, Judy's parachute still swaying in the wind from the top floor. "This is the only intact building around here with a terrace, it's gotta be the one she meant."

He glanced at one of the intact walls, stopping once he realized there was something concealed in the shadows. Taking a closer look, he saw that some sort of rough map of the island had been drawn on the wall.

"No way..." Nick gasped in awe as he brushed over the map with his paw. It looked like some sort of battle plan, with arrows depicting planned movements and attacks as well as several marked locations of note. One of them was the city of Henosia, sitting among a set of mountains right next to the ocean, another was a picture of several galleons off the island's coast, probably the Blackhorn fleet if Nick had to guess. "This must've been where Wilde and his crew planned their attacks against the Blackhorns." His gaze was drawn to a circled area on the northeastern part of the island. Next to it and right beside the map, a picture of a distinct looking fort had been drawn with an arrow pointing at it and a message written below. As Nick's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he began to read it out loud.

_"Rammeo - We have gone to the _**_Nocturnal Fortress_**_, I hope that you will meet us there. Our victory rests upon us finding _**_The Key of Flowers_**_locked within. Only then will we be able to reach _**_The Sacred Garden_**_that dwells in the heart of __**Henosia**__. I have never been one to look to the gods for favour, but I know you do, so pray that they will bring us fortune this day. _

_\- Francis Wilde" _

"Wow, so you found it," Nick noted in admiration, "despite everything they threw at you." He drew his gaze down, noticing a second note written below.

_"Also, not bad for a 'conniving fox,' wouldn't you say?" _

"Yup, he's a Wilde alright," Nick chuckled to himself. "A pity Rammeo didn't live to see it." He thought back to the remains of the sheep he had come across up on the ridge.

Having found what Judy had certainly wanted him to see, Nick reached for the radio and keyed it on, "Gramps, you there?"

There was a brief pause before Finnick responded. "Yeah, I'm here. Find anything?"

"Found a map of the island and a message from Sir Francis," Nick answered. "Think that's what Judy wanted me to see."

"Well no shit, genius, I doubt she left that clue in the tower for shits and giggles," Finnick snapped. "What did it say?"

"It said something about a place called _The Nocturnal Fortress _on the northeastern part of the island," the treasure hunter explained. "Contains something called _The Key of Flowers _for getting into _The Sacred Garden _in Henosia."

"Really? Flowers again?" Finnick grumbled. "Any idea what that crap means?"

"If I had to guess, the Sacred Garden must be some sort of treasure vault in the city," Nick speculated. "And the key is an artifact that we'll need to get it open."

"Damn flowers," Finnick scoffed. "It's in their books, it's carved into their temple ruins and it's all over the damn rubble on this island."

It was true, from the records they looked at to the temple to even the bits of rubble and ruins on the island, that symbol really did have a nasty habit of showing up everywhere. It was clearly something of great value to the society that lived here, but as to the reason why, Nick couldn't say.

"And now we got this Flower key and garden shit apparently," Finnick continued ranting. "Seriously, what the hell is it with these guys and flowers?"

Nick just shook his head. There were way too many mysteries piling up around here and he didn't have the time for any of them. "We'll have to figure that part out later, for now, it's obvious Judy's headed to this _Nocturnal Fortress_."

"You certain about that?" Finnick asked. "She might be more interested in keeping a low profile with Coastline crawling all over."

That probably would've been the smart thing to do, but Judy was a reporter, and a stubborn one at that. Like him, she wasn't one for playing it safe when the score was big enough, she certainly wouldn't be where she was today if she favoured the smart move. "No way, she's here looking for a big story, and that'd be a solid lead on one. Trust me, Gramps, it's where she'll be heading."

"Alright then, you go get her and I'll keep trying to find out what I can from Coastline," Finnick suggested.

Nick started to make his way back down to the bottom floor of the ruin when Finnick called in again. "Just a bit of advice, Kid. When you find her, don't treat her like a helpless bunny, I think we both know she's tougher than that."

"I'm aware, Gramps."

"Besides," the desert fox chuckled. "She'd probably just punch you in the face again...Actually, forget what I just said, do treat her like a helpless bunny, call her cute even, that'd be a freaking riot!"

"Yeah...I'm gonna go ahead and not do any of that…" Nick could almost feel the pain in his muzzle again as he recalled the last time Judy's paw had connected so viciously with it. For a bunny of all things to pack such a mean right hook, he'd have thought she was part rhino or something.

"Anyways, let me know what you find. I'll be sure to do the same," Finnick said. "Good luck, try not to die and all that shit."

"Getting kind of half-assed with the well wishes, Gramps," Nick mocked.

"I could get over there and tear you a new one if you'd prefer," Finnick growled.

"No, no, it's fine," Nick smirked. "I'll just be going on my way now and find that bunny."

"Smart move," Finnick responded.

As the radio finally went silent, Nick hooked it on his belt and started making his way through the jungle again. One way or another, he was going to find this _Nocturnal Fortress_ that Sir Francis Wilde was so keen on. And hopefully, he'd finally find Judy.

* * *

"Can't be much further now…" Nick grunted as he climbed over a rotten log. He could hear the sound of crashing waves in the distance, so the shore and the fortress overlooking it probably weren't very far off. It had been a tough hike, but hopefully, it would be worth the trouble. That fortress would bring him one step closer to finding Judy, and if Wilde's map was right, also one step closer to unlocking the secrets of-

_*Snap* _

Nick's ears perk up in alarm as a twig snapped just behind him, spinning around to try and spot the source of the noise. But there was nothing there, just more jungle brush. "Maybe I was just imagining it..." Suddenly, he heard the sound of rustling from the other direction. He snapped around again, pistol drawn and brought to bear, only to find nothing but more jungle. "Nope, definitely didn't imagine it that time. There's something else here…" he concluded, his eyes darting around as he searched for whatever had been making that noise.

_*Crack* _

Nick heard a noise from above, looking up only to see a small grey blur speeding towards him from the trees. Before he could even react, a pair of feet crashed into his chest, sending him flying onto his back and sending his gun spinning from his paw. Coughing and dazed, he looked up at the figure now standing on his chest, something raised over its head. He struggled to focus, managing to make out two elongated shapes protruding from the figure's head. As his vision started to clear and the blurry figure materialized into a grey bunny, it finally dawned on him just who he was staring at.

"Woah! Woah! Woah" Nick wheezed out, throwing his arms over his face. "It's me, Carrots!"

"Nick?" the rabbit gasped in surprise, lowering what turned out to be her Pandasonic camera from above her head. Her eyes went wide with shock as she realized what had just happened. "Oh my gosh, Nick! I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was you! Are you okay?"

"Could you...get off my chest...please?" Nick gasped. "Would really...like to breathe again…"

Realizing that she was still standing on the fox, her eyes bulged even wider. "Sweet cheese and crackers, I'm sorry! I really can't seem to stop hurting you!" Without thinking, she jumped off Nick, a pained gasp escaping him as she did. "Sorry, again..." she winced as she put the camera down, offering the winded vulpine a paw to help him up. "I didn't break anything, did I?"

"Nothing important...probably," Nick coughed as he took the offered paw and got back up on his feet. "You sure you're not with Coastline or something? At this point, you've probably beaten me up way more than they have."

"Sorry…" Judy's ears dropped behind her back and she started stroking one with a look on her face that was a mix of guilty and embarrassed. "I thought you were one of them."

"They tend to travel in groups, Fluff."

"I know," the rabbit said, glancing to the side. "It's just, I've been trying to keep a low profile and I had no idea what happened to you and Finn after I jumped out. I knew Coastline would be coming and when I finally heard somebody else, I just...assumed the worst."

"I get it, you were trying to stay alive," Nick responded. "Can't blame you for that, not after that rough landing of ours."

The rabbit didn't seem convinced, still looking guilty about what happened. Nick wasn't sure why, but that sad look on her face was really starting to get to him and he wanted it to stop. So he decided to try switching gears and gestured to the camera on the ground. "So what was your plan? Gonna beat me to death with your camera or something?"

"What?" the doe looked at the camera in confusion for a moment before shaking her head. "No, of course not. I was just gonna knock you out."

"Seems kinda wasteful, doesn't it?"

Judy shrugged. "I got the idea from Finnick, what would you have used?"

"Gee, I dunno...maybe a rock…" Nick gestured at all the rocks scattered across the jungle floor, several of which looked to be roughly the same size and weight as the rabbit's camera, and probably far less costly as a makeshift mammal bludgeon, too.

Judy stared in stunned silence at the rocks, her face growing increasingly pink beneath her fur. "Yeah...I guess a rock would've made more sense…"

An amused smirk crept onto the treasure hunter's muzzle. "For such a sly bunny, you can be awfully dense."

"Well _excuuuuuse _me for not being as used to this sort of thing as you," Judy glared at the fox. "In my line of work, being stranded on a strange island with a bunch of mercenaries trying to kill you isn't exactly what one would call a normal part of the job."

"Seems like you're just making excuses at this point, Fluff," Nick bent over and picked up his pistol from the ground, looking it over and chambering a round to make sure it was in working order before sliding it back into his holster. "I mean, I can't speak for you reporter types, but most mammals generally don't need to be experienced treasure hunters to know that a rock is probably preferable to an expensive camera for bashing someone over the head with."

Judy just huffed and pouted at him in response, clearly not having a comeback for that. It was obvious that Nick had managed to burn through most of the sympathy she had over kicking him, but that also meant she wasn't guilty anymore, and that suited him just fine. An annoyed bunny was preferable to a guilt-ridden one. But now that he had found Judy, it was time to call it in. The fox reached for his radio and pressed down on the receiver, "Finn, you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here, Kid," Finnick answered back. "What's up? You find the bunny yet?"

The rabbit's expression lit up at hearing Finnick's voice. "Is that Finn? Ooh! Ooh! Tell him I said hi!" Judy jumped up and down behind Nick, trying to grab at the radio as the fox kept it out of her reach. "Tell him I'm glad he made it off the plane! Ask him if he's alright! Ask him if he's seen anything!"

Once Judy finally started calming down, Nick keyed the radio again. "...Judy says hi."

There was a pause on the other end followed by a sigh. "Hi, bunny…"

Nick turned to look at the rabbit, her ears wilting a bit and her mouth pursed in a slight frown. It was the kind of look one would have when a relative bought them something completely worthless for their birthday, like socks, as if any self respecting mammal would ever wear something like that. She seemed relieved that Finn was alright, although probably disappointed by his lack of an enthusiastic response.

"She seems underwhelmed by your response, old timer," Nick said with a strained cough. "I thought you said you were a charmer with the ladies."

"I'll save the charm for later," Finnick growled back. "And what's with the coughing? You sound pretty winded. The jungle too much for you? Or did the bunny whip your ass again?"

Nick looked back at the reporter, her ears having drooped behind her back as she stared at him and the radio. He could see her face starting to turn pink again, clearly still embarrassed by the incident. He didn't really blame her, she certainly wasn't the only one who would've preferred to just pretend that hadn't happened.

"...Kicked me in the chest this time…"

"Still really sorry about that, by the way," the rabbit muttered quietly, gripping one of her ears awkwardly with her paws.

The radio started bursting with laughter on the other end. As if things hadn't been awkward enough already... Nick narrowed his eyes as he stared down at the device, waiting for his partner to finish. "Nice work bunny!" Finnick finally managed to mutter between fits of laughter. "I'm just sorry I wasn't there to see it! Godsdamn! That must've been quite a sight!"

When Nick looked back at Judy, she looked even more embarrassed than before. "Uhhh, hey! At least I managed to get an enthusiastic reaction out of him." An incredibly strained smile forced its way onto her face, as if smiling would somehow make all the awkwardness go away. "Glass half-full, right?"

Nick just rolled his eyes and keyed the radio receiver. "If you're quite finished, Gramps. I think it's time we figured out our next move."

"Right, right," Finnick responded, clearing his throat. "You said the bunny was looking for some fortress, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," Nick kept the radio keyed as he nodded at Judy. "Find anything about this _Nocturnal Fortress,_ Fluff?"

Maybe it was the prospect of sharing what she found, or maybe she just wanted to blow past the kicking accident as fast as possible. Either way, the embarrassment seemed to melt away to be replaced with excited enthusiasm."Oh, yeah, take a look at this." Judy grabbed her camcorder and practically bounced over to the fox, flipped the screen and excitedly motioned for him to bend down and take a look. Nick was happy to comply, looking down at the screen and seeing the map on the wall from the terrace earlier. "If you found me, then I'm guessing that means you saw this map as well."

"Yeah, I found it." Nick nodded at the bunny with a wink. "Pretty sly of you, by the way, leaving that clue near your chute, _Carrots _."

Judy turned to Nick and gave him a small smile, seemingly pleased with the treasure hunter's compliment. "Yeah, well, I figured Coastline wouldn't be able to figure it out, they seem kinda dumb."

"Oh yeah, they're _pretty_ dumb," Nick nodded.

The footage switched between several shots of the island jungle before finally resting on a landscape view of the ruined fortress as it sat on top of a rolling hill, encircled by jungle while the sea and cliffs were visible in the background. It was surrounded by four stone walls, weathered down to a dull grey by time and the elements with two partially standing towers at the corners. There probably should've been four towers, but the others had probably long since collapsed into rubble. There seemed to be a number of structures and trenches built into the hillside surrounding the fortress as well, probably defences meant to help repel attacks.

"So this was the fortress Wilde and his crew were looking for, I think he was aiming to get into _this_ building." The rabbit pointed at a structure in the middle of the fortress that seemed to rise above the walls. In an ordinary fortress, it probably would've been some sort of barracks or command center, but it didn't look quite right, and if Sir Francis' message was any indication, this probably wasn't an ordinary fortress. "From what I can tell, it looks to be some sort of storehouse or vault for this _Garden Key _he was looking for."

"Possibly," Nick pondered, stroking his muzzle with a paw. Something felt off about this place and he was trying to figure out what it was. "Does this fortress look kinda dull to you? I mean everywhere we've been, all the ruins seem to be emblazoned in all kinds of carvings and murals, but this fortress doesn't seem to have anything." Indeed, the fortress was downright bland in appearance to the point where even the DMV in Zootopia probably had more flair. The walls didn't appear to have any carvings or depictions at all, just dull weatherbeaten stone covered in cracks and other wear and tear. "I mean the ruins I've come across, the notes and pictures in the books we've looked at, even that temple all the way across the ocean, they all had way more flair and fanfare than this place. It certainly doesn't seem to have the aesthetics to match a name as cool sounding as _The Nocturnal Fortress."_

"Maybe it was supposed to be a secret," Judy suggested. "If the city were ever to fall, than the treasures would still be secure and the key to unlocking the vault would be kept hidden away in some nondescript fortress on the edge of the island."

"Maybe, we don't actually know how common knowledge this fortress was," Nick focused his gaze on the central structure, searching for anything that stood out. Strangely enough, it didn't even have the flower carvings that seemed to be prevalent just about everywhere else on the island, at least from what he could tell. "Did you check it out?"

The rabbit shook her head. "Not yet, but I did manage to scope out the area and find a good path to take that should get us there. I was actually working my way towards it when I ran into you."

"Well, glad to know I didn't almost get my muzzle smashed in by a camera for nothing." Nick snarked as he raised the radio, the comm key still held down and spoke into it. "Finn, you get all that?"

"Yeah, I heard it," the desert fox answered back, sounding a little more enthusiastic than usual. "Talk about disappointing..."

"Disappointing?"

"Yeah," Finnick answered, a hint of smugness coming across in his voice. "If she managed to break your muzzle, I wouldn't have to listen to your yapping anymore."

"The, fortress, Gramps..." Nick said with an annoyed sigh.

"Oh, yeah, that, that's good too," Finnick replied. "We might've just found our payday after all."

"You really need to have more faith in me, Gramps," Nick said with a grin. "I always deliver in the end."

"Yeah, well there's still plenty of time for you to find a way to screw this up, so I'm not exactly gonna hold my godsdamn breath," the older fox growled back. "Just get up there with the bunny and check that place out, I'll let you know if I hear anything on the radio."

"Bye, Finn," Judy said, hopping up so she was closer to the receiver when she spoke. "Stay safe out there."

"You too, bunny," Finnick answered back. "I'm probably asking the impossible from you, but try to keep the idiot from doing anything stupid."

"I'll do my best," Judy responded excitedly. "Take care."

Finnick just grunted in affirmation and the radio went silent. Certain they wouldn't be hearing back from the desert fox anytime soon, Nick placed the radio back on his belt and turned to the reporter.

"Well then, Fluff, lead the way."

* * *

"So sick of this damned jungle," Nick wearily panted as he pushed through yet another veritable wall of jungle brush. He was really starting to miss that river...

"Hang in there, Slick, we're almost there," Judy teased as she hopped off a small stump and eagerly pushed ahead of Nick. "Some big time treasure hunter you turned out to be if all it takes is a little walking to wear you out. You getting 'too old for this nonsense' already?"

"Ha ha, very funny," Nick sarcastically snapped back. "All you've been doing since we got here is wandering around with that camera of yours. How about _you _dive out of a plane with a faulty chute, climb up a cliff, have that same cliff dropped on you, and get into multiple shootouts with a bunch of trigger happy psychos, and then you can tell me how eager you are for some more 'walking.'"

"Well, look on the bright side, all that walking, climbing, and getting shot at is finally about to pay off." Judy forced her way through the brush, pushing it aside to reveal an exposed hill and the Nocturnal Fortress sitting at the top.

"Still doesn't look any more impressive from this angle," Nick grumbled as he and the bunny climbed up to the entrance. At the top, they found that front gates had collapsed into a pile of stone and broken metal, providing little in the way of obstacles as they simply scaled over it and jumped down into the fortress proper.

"You know, I'd expect a place called _The Nocturnal_ _Fortress_ to be a lot harder to break into," Judy commented, her eyes scanning every corner as she checked out the fortress interior.

"Well, Carrots, I guess that's what happens when mammals build something without taking thousands of years of neglect into account," Nick said, bending down and giving her a cocky smirk. He may have been exhausted, but he still wasn't one to pass up the opportunity to dish out some snark.

Judy just glared at Nick for a moment before turning away and walking past him. "Let's just get on with finding this key already…" She headed straight for the strange storehouse at the center of the fort, stopping at a massive pair of doors blocking the way in.

Nick walked right up to the doors, craning his neck up to see how they towered over him and the rabbit. The things were massive, they were probably tall enough to fit an elephant, maybe even a giraffe if they were willing to bend down. As he stared at the doors, he noticed that unlike the rest of the fortress, these doors actually had symbols on them. There were two crescent moons carved on each side of the set, both bordered in a wreath of the mysterious flowers that had become synonymous with Henosia at this point. "Huh..looks like this fortress has some flair after all."

"Those flowers again... the ones that look like white night howlers," Judy observed. "This must mean we're on the right track! Come on help me with the doors!" She leaned against one of them and started pushing with all her might, throwing her weight into it and digging her feet into the ground.

Nick just stared at the struggling bunny and mockingly shook his head. "Carrots, you keep going like that, I promise all you'll wind up doing is throwing out your back. Doors like these were probably designed to stop an entire phalanx of elephants. Even after all these years, it's gonna take more than a little bunny like you to get them open. We should just look for anoth-"

_*Crack* _

Judy yelped in surprise as one of the doors broke loose and fell backwards into the storehouse. The reporter fell on top of it as it slammed into the floor with what sounded and felt like an earth-shattering thud.

"Wow…" Nick muttered in disbelief.

Judy pulled herself up, looking even greyer than usual as her fur and clothes were completely covered in dust, her nose twitching erratically. "Hey...I got it open…pretty good wouldn't you...ah...ah…._ achoo!" _A cloud of dust was kicked up, blowing right into Nick's face and turning him a similar shade of grey as the bunny.

"I guess that's one way to get it open…" the fox conceded as he tried to flick the dust loose with his tail, brushing away at his fur and clothes with his paws. "Should probably brush yourself off, it's time to start looking for this _Garden Key _that Wilde and the Blackhorns were apparently so interested in."

"Sure thing," Judy excitedly agreed. She shook her head back and forth, her ears flopping to and from with small clouds of dust flying in every direction, one of which crashed into Nick again just as he'd managed to finish cleaning himself. There was a slight look of shock turned to minor embarrassment as Judy realized what happened "Uhh...sorry?"

Nick just stared at the rabbit and sighed before stepping past her and into the building. "Come on, we can search this place a room at a time."

For the next half hour, they combed over every chamber of the supposed storehouse, looking for any sign of the mysterious artifact it supposedly contained. Despite how promising things had looked at first, every chamber they searched was almost completely barren, containing little more than dust and rubble.

"There's nothing here, Nick," Judy noted dejectedly, her ears drooped behind her as she lowered her camera. "Got nothing but footage of one dusty room after another."

"Have some faith, Carrots, I'm not quite ready to call this a bust just yet." The fox was feeling one of the walls with his paw, searching for anything that might stand out. A hidden switch, a secret passage, hell, he'd settle for a faded carving at this point. "There's gotta be something here, we're just missing it."

Nick could hear the reporter's foot tapping behind him, presumably in deep thought. "Wracking that ex-bunny cop brain of yours?" He turned around only to see that she hadn't even noticed, her brow furrowed as she was contemplating some sort of imaginary clue that only she could see.

"Wait…" the bunny started, her expression growing more animated by the second. "I think I might've figured it out." She locked her gaze on Nick. "The Nocturnal district in Zootopia, what do you know about it?"

"Uhh, not much," Nick started, caught off guard by the sudden question. "It's a district meant for nocturnal mammals, obviously."

"Right, right, but think about," the reporter pressed. "Where is it in the city?"

"Uhh, no offence," Nick started, "but I don't see how reminiscing about that sham of a city is gonna help us find the-" Nick stopped mid-sentence, eyes lighting up as he realized the point Judy was trying to make. "Wait a minute...the Nocturnal district...it's underground…"

"Exactly!" Judy hopped in excitement. "This is the _Nocturnal Fortress,_ right? Well, what if this is only a small part of the fortress? What if the majority of it is actually underground? There could be an entire underground network carving through the island!"

"Which means that'd probably be where the key is." Nick snapped his digits, "We've gotta find the lowest chamber, if there's an underground section, that's probably where the entrance will be."

"I caught a glimpse of some stairs leading down to a basement in one of the rooms we passed." Judy beckoned Nick to follow as she made her way towards the stairway. "Come on, this way!"

As the fox and rabbit took the stairs down, they found themselves in yet another nondescript room. It was darker than the others, but some light was still able to penetrate through the cracks in the walls and roof, making it visible enough for the duo, if a little murky.

"Find anything?" Judy asked. "Hard to see down here."

"Nothing yet," Nick answered, his eyes adjusting to the darkness."But if this fortress was built to protect the Garden Key, then I doubt they'd have the entrance out in the open where any idiot could just stroll on in." He pointed to the opposite wall. "We need to check every inch of this room, you take that side, I'll take this one. If there's anything out of the ordinary here, we'll find it."

Nick and Judy took their time, slowly pawing over every inch of the room in search of some sort of clue to the Garden Key and its whereabouts. It was a tedious task, dragging on for what felt like forever, and all they seemed to be getting for their efforts were dusty paws and fur. As the search started to drag on, Nick found himself silently fighting the urge to bash his head against the wall in a desperate attempt to make something at least somewhat interesting happen. Amidst all the climbing, shooting, explosions, crashing, and psychotic mercenaries, it was easy to forget that sometimes, treasure hunting was just_ really _boring.

"I think I've got something," Judy called out, snapping Nick out of his near-comatose stupor. He practically leaped across the room towards the bunny as she was brushing the dust off the wall.

"Please let this be something good," Nick said as he helped the rabbit brush away the rest of the dust, revealing a circular indentation in the wall. There was a metallic crescent moon in the center surrounded by a ring of twelve symbols.

"What is it?" Judy asked, brushing a paw over the strange object. She prodded at the crescent moon in the center only to snap her paw back in surprise when the crescent shifted with a small click. "Uhh...is it supposed to do that?"

"I think so." Nick grabbed the crescent and experimented with it, twisting the piece of metal one way, and then the other. As he moved it around, he noticed that whenever the crescent clicked, one of the symbols on the surrounding ring would be centred in its cusp. "This must be some sort of combination lock. If we can figure out the correct symbols, it might open up the way to the Garden key."

"Any idea what the combination might be?" Judy asked.

"None, whatsoever," Nick answered.

"Oh…" the reporter responded, sounding disappointed. She leaned in and looked more closely at the symbols on the ring. "Those are the twelve lunar phases of the moon, did Sir Francis have something about that in his notes?"

"I think he might've, give me a sec." Nick's pulled out the long dead explorer's journal and started flipping through his notes. "Here we go." The fox poked a digit at a drawing of a similar looking crescent, it was surrounded by three drawings of the moon at different phases. _"The moon's glow will light the way."_

"He must've learned the combination!" Judy bounced with excitement, standing on the tips of her toes as she strained to get a look at the journal. "New moon...waxing half...waning crescent…"

"Well, Wilde, thanks for doing us yet another solid," Nick grinned as he followed the notes, turning the mechanism and pushing it inward each time it lined up with one of the matching phases. After he pressed the crescent in for the third time, he took a step back and waited.

"Wilde knew what he was doing, right?" Judy asked cautiously. She was probably remembering Nick's comments about booby traps from back at the temple a week earlier.

"Probably," Nick answered in a tone that he hoped sounded certain. "There can be a lot of guesswork in this line of work, though."

"That's not very comforting…"

"Don't worry, Fluff, ol' Sir Francis hasn't steered us wrong, yet," Nick assured the rabbit as they stood there in anticipation. There was the sound of something clicking behind the stone followed by shifting. Suddenly there was a burst of noise as the wall before them gradually descended into the floor, taking the combination lock with it and revealing a hidden staircase. "Haha! What did I tell ya!" Nick pumped a paw in triumph. "Always bet on Francis!"

"The key's gotta be down there somewhere." The doe peered down the stairs, her nose twitching with nervous anticipation as she stared into the darkness.

"Any second thoughts?" Nick questioned. Despite the confidence he was trying to project, he couldn't help but feel nervous as well. Even his nocturnal eyes weren't enough to make out how far that passage went into the imposing darkness. Still, they couldn't afford to turn back now, they'd come too far and had to put up with way too much crap at this point.

"Not on your life, Slick," Judy answered firmly. Apparently, the rabbit thought the same.

"Then let's go find ourselves an artifact." Making sure Judy stayed close, he lead her down the stairs and into the dark tunnels of the fortress.


	13. The Key to the City

"Finally! About time we got some actual light. I don't know why you insisted on trying to do this in the dark."

"What?" The fox shrugged, pointing the flashlight in Judy's face, her eyes squinting as she tried to block the beam with her paws. "I thought I was doing pretty good. I mean, I could still make out the outline of the hallway. I am a nocturnal mammal after all."

"I'm not stupid, Nick, even a fox needs at least _some _light to see where they're going," Judy countered. "This far below ground, there's next to nothing. We were basically a step above the blind leading the blind."

Despite the rabbit's objections, Nick had insisted he didn't need to use his flashlight right away. He figured that as long as there was some light getting in, he'd be able to feel his way around the underground passages of the Nocturnal Fortress. That and he wasn't exactly sure how long the batteries would hold out, but he had neglected to mention that last part to Judy since he couldn't imagine her reacting positively to it.

He had managed to convince the bunny for a while, even after he face-planted into one of the walls, and then when he did it again. After the third time though, Judy had enough and at that point, it was either turn on the flashlight himself or fight the bunny for it. He decided to go with the former.

"Still think I was doing pretty good," Nick mumbled.

"Tell that to the walls you kept trying to get to first base with," Judy rolled her eyes. "Now come on, we should be finding the _Key of Flowers _soon, right?"

"No way to know for sure," Nick responded. "You said it yourself, this network could run under the entire island, it might even go all the way to Henosia."

Now that there was light, they could see that these passages were where all the artistic flair had gone. The halls were lined with murals and carvings that practically glimmered in the flashlight's glow. Nick wasn't entirely sure, but he wouldn't have been surprised if a gold inlay had been built into them, it'd certainly explain the glimmer. The tunnels themselves seemed fairly sturdy as well, pretty impressive for a network that had to be at least several thousand years old.

"It's incredible," Judy noted in awe as she walked through the halls, filming the murals as she went. "So many stories built into these murals. Just think of all the history lining these walls."

"It sure is something," Nick nodded. "Pity we can't stick around to study it on account of the whole being chased by psycho mercenaries thing."

Judy lowered the camera, shooting the fox an unimpressed look. "Thanks for killing the mood, Slick..."

"Gramps isn't here, so somebody's gotta do it," Nick smirked as he led the bunny onward.

Eventually, the hallway opened up to reveal a massive chamber. It was so large that the walls didn't even reach all the way to the top, stopping halfway to reveal an elaborate series of murals carved into the ceiling. "Think we might be getting somewhere," Nick said, tracing the light upwards towards the chamber ceiling.

"It's gigantic," Judy gasped, pointing her camera towards the ceiling carvings. "Do you think this is where they kept the key?"

"I don't know," Nick answered, looking around and seeing multiple passages branching off in different directions through the chamber. "Looks like it'd be pretty easy to get lost down here."

The two of them started making their way towards a nexus that split into multiple passages. It was anyone's guess as to which route to take, but the two of them had more immediate issues to worry about when the light suddenly blinked out and everything went dark.

"Uh oh…"

"The light..." Judy gasped from somewhere to Nick's left. "Is this going to be a problem, Nick? Did you get us lost and blind forty meters underground?"

"Course not." Nick gripped the flashlight in his paws. "Just needs a good smack or two and we should be fine."

He slapped the side of the flashlight, the sound ringing out in the darkness, but nothing happened.

He smacked it again, still nothing.

He sighed and smacked it a third time. That seemed to do the trick as the flashlight flickered back on again, its beam piercing through the darkness of the underground chamber. "See? What did I tell you? Just needed a good smack, that's all."

"And the next time it dies on us?" Judy asked, not sounding convinced.

"Come on, have some faith," the fox responded. "When have I ever let you down?"

"Well…"

"I don't mean _literally_," he interrupted. "Just a figure of speech."

"Nobody has_ ever_ used that as a figure of speech," the rabbit said, her eyes narrowing.

"Well then...I guess I'll be the first," Nick tried to justify with a forced smile.

"Why do I feel like we're going to die down here…"

"Come on, Fluff, ease up. You worry too much," Nick said.

"And you don't worry enough," Judy shot back.

"Because worrying just means you'll be more likely to miss out on a big payday," Nick countered, pointing the flashlight towards the passageway nexus. "Now come on, less time arguing, more time finding that key."

When they finally reached the nexus, they saw that even those passages broke off into multiple pathways of their own, leading who knows where. It was clear now what the Nocturnal Fortress really was: a veritable underground labyrinth that had been built to protect the Key of Flowers.

"Mam, they really didn't skimp on the security measures down here," Nick said with a whistle, admiring the massive amounts of stonework that had to have gone into building this place.

"They could've held off an entire army from down here," Judy observed. "Even if they managed to storm the gates above, a large enough force that knew the pathways would probably be able to hold an attacking army off for months, if not years."

"It could make getting that key a little more complicated than we thought..." Nick brought the flashlight down to look at some carvings on the floor only for everything to go dark as the flashlight died on him a second time.

"Crap…"

"What was that you said again, Slick?" Judy's voice echoed in the darkness with a mix of concern and annoyance. "Just needed a smack?"

"Come on...work dammit!" Nick muttered, ignoring the reporter as he tried to smack some more life out of the flashlight. He may have been a nocturnal mammal, but even he couldn't navigate this maze without any light. Even when there was a little, he was still faceplanting into walls, but this far down, there was nothing at all.

"You're embarrassing me in front of the rabbit!" He smacked the flashlight in frustration one last time before letting out a defeated sigh. "I think we might be in trouble…"

"Don't you have any extra batteries for something like this?" Judy asked.

"I do…" Nick started.

"Great!" Judy cut in prematurely.

"On the plane…" Nick finished.

"Oh…not so great..." Judy responded. "So...what now?"

"Stay still for a sec," Nick answered, shuffling through the darkness towards where he thought the reporter was.

"Hold on, let me try something." Nick could hear shuffling as Judy evidently ignored him. There was the sound of something being struck followed by a small glow erupting in the darkness. A shadowy silhouette of the rabbit appeared with a lit match faintly glowing in her paw.

"Nice! Way to think ahead," Nick smiled, moving closer to the rabbit.

"Not bad, huh?" Judy smirked, only to flinch and let out a small yelp moments later as the match singed her fingers. The glow was quickly snuffed out as she dropped the match, shrouding them in darkness once again. "Shoot...maybe if I could just-"

Nick didn't hear whatever she said next. Caught off guard by the sudden darkness, he stumbled as his foot caught on something and he fell face-first onto the stone floor. "Ow...ow, that's my muzzle…" he groaned, cradling his now aching mouth. "This really isn't my day…"

As the fox slowly got back up and shook his head, he realized the rabbit hadn't answered. "Carrots? Where are you?"

"Over here," Judy called out. "Think I might've come up with something."

Not wanting to risk yet another meeting between his face and a solid surface, Nick decided to just stay still while Judy finished whatever she was doing. There was more shuffling and the sound of something like wood rattling against the ground. After an uncomfortably long silence, he heard another match being struck, followed by a much larger eruption of light. Looking at the source, he saw Judy much more clearly now, a lit torch held in her paw as the flickering light danced across the walls and ceiling above.

"Nice one," Nick applauded. "Where'd you find that?"

"I noticed some old torch holders on the walls when we first got down here," Judy explained. "I figured there'd be at least one we could use lying around."

"Alright, well that's one problem taken care of," Nick started, looking around at the labyrinth that had opened up to them, light and shadows flickering down the various passageways and across the elaborate carvings. "Now to just figure out where the hell we're supposed to go…" On the floor, he saw what it was that had sent him tumbling to the ground and robbed him of yet another shred of his dignity. It was an unusual looking symbol protruding from the floor. Down the various paths, he saw that each one had a differently shaped design of their own.

"I'm guessing just picking random routes and hoping for the best is out of the question?" Judy asked rhetorically, waving the torch to get a better view of the passages that lay ahead.

"Not unless you want to wind up lost down here," Nick answered. "We can't even see to the end of this chamber, this network could easily stretch on for miles, and that torch won't last forever."

"Any chance Sir Francis had something to say about it?" the rabbit asked.

"That does seem to be our go-to whenever we get stuck, isn't it?" the fox smirked, pulling out the old journal. He started flipping through the pages, looking for anything that might relate to their predicament, only to flinch in shock as an uncomfortable surge of light and heat hit him. He looked up to see Judy standing next to him, holding the torch right in front of his face. "Ack, watch it! You trying to light me up?"

The rabbit flinched, seemingly taken aback. "I was just trying to give you some extra light."

"Nocturnal mammal, Fluff," Nick responded, pointing at his eyes. "I have plenty enough light already, you're about an inch away from turning me into the next FireFox."

"Well can I at least get a look? I might pick up on something you wouldn't," the reporter suggested.

"Alright, fine," the fox motioned the rabbit over. "Just be careful with that torch, if the journal burns up, we're properly screwed. Or…at least...more screwed than we already are."

"Easy, Slick, I know how to hold a torch without burning the whole farm down," Judy assured. "And I thought _I _was on edge."

"Right, I'm 'on edge' just because I don't want to catch fire, I must be crazy or something!" Nick rolled his eyes at the rabbit. "Now come on, the sooner we figure this labyrinth out and find that key, the sooner we can get out of here."

Nick started looking through the pages for something that might be relevant. Judy blocked his paw and pointed at a page covered in a maze-like mosaic pattern with a crescent moon at the center. "This might be what we're looking for," she suggested.

"You sure about that?" Nick questioned.

The rabbit nodded and pointed up. Craning his neck, Nick saw that the same mosaic was embedded into the ceiling, an identical crescent moon at the center. He wasn't sure how he'd missed that the first time, and now he looked an idiot in front of the rabbit for it...again. "Okay, you may be onto something..."

"And you're here, why, exactly?" the rabbit smugly rubbed it in, given the fox a lopsided grin.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get coky," Nick shot back, narrowing his eyes at the rabbit. "We all have our bad days and our good, speak to me again when you've got as many lost sites and artifacts to your name as I have."

"And how many of those ended up exploding?" the rabbit countered.

"...Shut up..."

"Nice comeback."

"Listen, Fluff, do you want to help me find this thing? Or would you rather waste time taking jabs at me until that torch goes out and we end up lost down here?" Nick snapped at the rabbit, turning his attention back to the journal.

Seemingly satisfied at getting one over on the treasure hunter, Judy dropped the subject and went back to studying the page. "Do you think it tells us how to get through the maze?" Nick was glad to see she knew when to stop pressing, probably a useful skill for a reporter to have.

"Yeah, there's something written here," Nick pointed at the adjacent page. It was covered in a variety of strange symbols with a phrase written at the center.

_Light blinds, darkness shrouds. United beneath the crescent moon, their path is bound. _

"Still cryptic as ever, I see," Judy groaned. "Your ancestor had serious trust issues."

"Can you blame him?" the treasure hunter shrugged. "Being a fox back then? Probably had half the officers in the royal navy gunning for him based on his species alone, and the other half were probably just looking to use him to get ahead. Had to do everything he could to stay ahead of the others and keep them from stealing his work."

"Something you two seem to have in common," Judy noted, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"Yeah, that's the curse we Wilde's have to bear," Nick smiled, hoping to lighten the bunny's mood a bit. "Always having to put up with those assholes jealous of how much more handsome and successful we are." To the fox's delight, he managed to get a small chuckle from the reporter. He moved to place a paw on her shoulder only to get sidetracked when he noticed something in the journal that just might get them out of the labyrinth. "And it looks like all that hard work covering our tails might just pay off that much sooner." He pointed at the strange symbols surrounding the riddle, "Take a look at these, notice them anywhere else?"

Judy's ears perked up, being just as distracted from the previous issue as Nick once she realized what he meant. "Yeah, they look like those weird symbols sticking out of the floor."

"And here I thought they were just there to trip me up and make me look like an idiot," Nick smirked, looking at the symbols on the ground then back at the journal. "Doesn't say anything about which symbol to follow, though."

"Maybe we aren't supposed to follow just one," Judy suggested, waving her torch back and forth in front of one of the symbols. Nick wasn't quite sure what she was doing at first, maybe she just wanted to see if it would react to fire or something? It was only once he noticed that she wasn't actually staring at the symbol itself that it dawned on him just what she was doing.

"Those symbols on the ground," Nick started. "Their shadows change depending on where you hold the light."

"Light and dark together, what does that make?" Judy asked, giving Nick a knowing smile.

"Shadows," Nick nodded. "Try facing one of the passages when you cast that shadow, Judy. I have an idea."

The rabbit complied, positioning herself so that the protruding symbol was between her and one of the passages. They studied the shadow on the ground for a minute before the bunny repositioned to face a different passage. Just as suspected, the symbol cast a different shadow at this new angle. She repositioned herself several more times, studying each of the new shadows that formed until Nick finally cut in.

"Stop," the fox raised a paw. "Look at that one." Unlike the others, this shadow had formed into the familiar shape of a crescent moon.

"_'United beneath the crescent moon, their path is bound...' _" Judy repeated, the excitement gradually building in her voice. "That must be what Sir Francis meant! We have to follow the crescent moon!"

"You catch on pretty quick," the fox complimented. "Can't believe you seriously wanted to be a cop of all things, you were born for this type of life."

"Well, there's not really _that_ many differences between a cop and a treasure hunter," Judy commented, starting to move down the passageway.

"Really?" Nick quirked a brow as he followed the rabbit. "I'm curious about how you came to _that _conclusion."

"Well sure, on the surface, you wouldn't think so," Judy shrugged. "I mean treasure hunters do seem to have way less regard for the rule of law if you're anything to go by."

"That's putting it mildly…"

"But really, when you think about it," the reporter continued. "Many of the things that make for a good cop also make for a good treasure hunter. You gotta be alert and prepared, need to know the area, pay attention to the small details, be good at problem solving, and have to be able to think fast when things don't go to plan."

"Well then, Carrots, be sure to share those thoughts with your cop buddies whenever you get back to Zootopia. Maybe they'll even give you your old job back," Nick laughed, waving his paw in an overly dramatic fashion. "I'll even give you a glowing reference, _"Judy Hopps - outstanding treasure hunter, a must hire!_"

"Yeah, yeah, very funny, Slick," Judy said, rolling her eyes. "That might not sync well with the ZPD, but it is true." A thoughtful looked crossed her face before she spoke again. "You know, I bet even you'd make a good cop, you certainly have the skills for it."

"Yeah right, until they find out about all the carnage I've been linked to and send me up the river," Nick scoffed. "No thank you, I think I'll stick with the job where I only wind up in prison if I screw up. Now let's forget about that silly notion and follow this moon of ours. See if it leads us to this key everybody wanted so badly."

It was a slow process as the fox and rabbit worked their way through the labyrinth, frequently having to stop and check each symbol until they found the shadow that indicated the next path to take. The further they walked through the abandoned halls, the more of a story the murals and carvings on the wall seemed to tell. This place may have been built to protect the Key of Flowers, but it had clearly also been designed as yet another monument to this long forgotten civilization and its accomplishments. Just like back at the temple, some of the murals depicted many species working and living together within the confines of the city. Other murals seemed to focus on the civilization's growing influence as it expanded beyond the island, its representatives travelling to the far corners of the known world to trade, share their ideals, and spread knowledge. And the flowers, everywhere they looked, those strange white flowers seemed to permeate the murals, be it as part of the borders, depicted growing within the city itself, or even being held and worn by the citizens. If these murals made one thing clear, it's that humility and restraint were not Henosia's strong suits. That and they _really_ liked those flowers.

"What do you think happened to them?"

"Hmm?" Nick's ears flicked in the rabbit's direction, caught off guard by the sudden question.

"The people," Judy clarified, staring at the murals. "The city wasn't the only thing to disappear, there were mammals here as well."

"Tends to happen when the civilization they were a part of vanishes, Fluff," Nick answered, raising a brow in curiosity.

"Yeah, but come on, an entire civilization's worth of mammals just disappearing without a trace? Doesn't that seem off to you?" Judy countered. "I mean...with those stories about this place being cursed by the gods…"

"Please don't tell me you actually believe that nonsense," Nick interrupted. "I'd like to think you're smarter than that."

"I don't know, Nick," Judy shook her head. "That many mammals don't just vanish without a trace, not naturally. Something bad happened here."

"You're overthinking it," the fox argued. "When it comes to the fates of lost civilizations, the simplest reason is usually the right one. Civilizations get complacent, they rot from within, something finally pushes them over the brink, and then they fall and everybody ditches them, that's pretty much half of history right there."

"What about Sir Francis' journal?" Judy suggested. "He found this place, after all. Did he ever say anything about what he found? I mean he had to have recorded how the expedition ended, right? How else would his journal have made it off the island?"

"Could've had it sent away," Nick countered, reaching into his pack to pull out the journal. "Besides, I never did get to find out how it ended."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean somebody was trying to cover up what he found," Nick pulled out the journal and flipped to the end, showing the rabbit the final set of pages, the last one was conspicuously missing. "Last page was torn out."

"Is it possible he did it?" Judy asked, studying the tears in the journal. "He might've had a secret he was trying to protect."

"Maybe," the treasure hunter shrugged, putting the journal back in his pack. "The guy had a lot of enemies, I could imagine him committing something to memory if he thought it was important enough to hide. Not that we have anything to gain by dwelling on it, Wilde's been dead for a long time. If he was hiding anything else about this island, the only chance we'll have of figuring it out is by getting out of this maze."

They continued onward into the darkness, Judy lighting the way in silence, no doubt mulling over what they had just discussed. Nick was content to allow her to do just that, he had his own things to worry about, like what their next move would be once they found the key. It would be a nice find and all, but they'd still have to deal with Dante and Coastline; it's not like those assholes would be leaving anytime soon. The fox and rabbit travelled down several more passageways in silence until the branching passages finally came to an end. A large arched exit to the maze lay before them, signifying that they had finally reached the edge of the massive chamber.

"Looks like our way out of here," Judy noted, stopping to stare at the archway.

"Good," Nick nodded. "Would've really sucked if we wound up being completely off base about the whole shadow symbols thing."

"You really like just jumping in half-cocked without any sort of plan, don't you?" Judy said, narrowing her eyes at the fox as he walked past her and through the arched passage.

"To be fair, I was _pretty _sure that's what we were supposed to do," the fox replied. "Besides, you're not so different, wasn't that more or less why you got fired from the ZPD?"

"Fair point…" Judy admitted as she followed behind.

The passageway was lined with more murals along each wall, no doubt telling yet another story of Henosia and its various exploits. The reporter was still holding her camera in one paw, taking quick shots of everything they passed, but Nick had stopped paying them much attention. There were way too many stories and not enough time to contemplate them all, not with Dante and his Coastline pals gradually making their way across the island. Assuming they didn't end up having to blast their way off the island, those murals would have to wait. For now, they needed to find this key and get into that vault everybody apparently wanted so badly, hopefully before Coastline found them.

As they pressed further through the passage, Nick noticed that the murals had started to decline in quality. Back in the maze, they were still well preserved, but the further they progressed through this passageway, the more worn and faded the murals had become, even to the point where bits of the wall had been crumbling away. This area was in much worse condition than the rest of the fortress, but Nick couldn't figure out why. Or at least, he couldn't until he noticed just how damp his footpads had become.

"Carrots, does this passageway seem kinda...wet...to you?"

"Yeah, it does seem damp, my feet are starting to get soaked," Judy replied, her ears swivelling as she spoke. "And I think I hear...water?"

"Yeah, it's gotta be leaking in from somewhere," Nick noted. Looking around, he made out the faint outlines of water flowing down the side of the tunnel and back towards the maze. "Didn't see any water back at the maze, we must've gone beneath the islands water table at some point ."

"Maybe the water level's risen since this passage was built?" the rabbit suggested.

"No, it'd be flooded by now if that was the case. If this passage is still keeping most of the water out after thousands of years, then it was designed to be watertight," Nick said. "I'm guessing they built it into the water table so that they could flood out any intruders that managed to get this far."

"Which means we're surrounded by water in a tunnel that hasn't been maintained for thousands of years…" Judy murmured, a hint of anxiousness creeping into her voice. As if the situation wasn't tense enough already...

"Yeah...maybe we should just keep moving," Nick said, picking up the pace. "As much as going up against Coastline again is gonna suck, I'd still rather not save them the trouble by drowning down here. Maybe if we-"

Nick was cut off as a burst of static erupted from his radio, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Ni-_*kssssh*_-unny? An-_*kssssh*_-ead me?"

The transmission was pretty garbled, but it was clear who the voice on the other end belonged to. Nick grabbed the radio and keyed the receiver. "Gramps? Gramps is that you?" He released the button, waiting for a response, but all he heard was static and a few faint noises that may or may not have been his older partner.

"Gramps?" The fox paused for a second, still getting nothing but static. "Finn?"

Finally, the desert fox's voice managed to break through again, but the signal was still too weak and the few bits that Nick could pick weren't making much sense.

"_*kssssh*_-ler_*kssssh*_-ort_*kssssh*_-damn_*kssssh*_stripper_*kssssh*-_osi-_*kssssh*-out!_"

"Dammit!" the vulpine growled, tapping at the radio in a futile attempt to clear up the transmission. "Can't get a decent signal! We must be too far underground."

"No kidding," Judy said. "That static was so bad, it actually sounded like he was saying 'stripper.'"

Nick shook his head. "No...no. You probably heard him right. There's a good chance he said that." Judy just stared at him in response, a baffled expression on her face.

"Long story," Nick said, waving off the bunny's unspoken question. "Doesn't matter, we won't get a good enough signal to reach him while we're still down here. We're just gonna have to hope that whatever he had to say can wait until we're back on the surface."

"I guess," Judy responded with a frustrated sigh. "It was probably something important, wasn't it?"

"Was it something important?" Nick asked rhetorically. "Knowing our luck, yes, yes it probably was."

"Guess we'll just have to hope he can reach us in time," Judy said as she started walking down the passageway again. "And be ready to deal with whatever consequences come our way if he can't."

"Now you're getting it," Nick smiled. "Hope for something good to happen, but be prepared for when it almost inevitably takes a detour into Shitsville. You're really starting to get into that treasure hunter mindset, now."

"As appealing as that sounds, I think I'll just stick with journalism next time," Judy responded. "I prefer a line of work where getting shot at is the exception, not the norm."

"It can be a bit of an acquired taste, I'll give you that," the treasure hunter shrugged as he walked beside the torch-wielding rabbit. "We treasure hunters are a very unique breed."

"Uniquely insane, maybe," the reporter mumbled.

"Say what you will, Fluff," Nick smirked as they approached the end of the underground passageway, the entrance to a small chambered room laying before them. "But at least we get results."

Inside the room, they saw that there was a large crescent moon carved into the floor at the base of a circular pedestal that lay in the center of the room. On the opposite side was a partially cracked stone door with a faint carving of the city on it. Surrounding the chamber were monuments of soldiers carved into the walls, each of a different species and alternating between predator and prey. Each of them held a spear in one paw and a shield in the other, with the mysterious white flower elaborately emblazoned on their chest armour.

"You certainly do, even if the methods are questionable..." Judy stepped forward, bringing the torch close with one paw while she gripped her camera in the other, looking closely at the white flower symbols on the soldiers as she did. "There's no doubt about it, whatever those flowers were, they were important. If only we knew what purpose they served…"

"Can't say for sure," Nick said as he stepped towards the pedestal. "But I think this might get us one step closer to solving that little mystery." He pointed towards the center of the pedestal. There was a metal plate holding a silver replica of a blooming six petal flower, the petals all laying flat against the ground and pointed outwards in a circular pattern.

"Just like the white night howlers…" Judy whispered in awe, focusing her camera on the flower-shaped artifact. "This is what sir Francis was looking for! This is the Garden Key!"

"Yup," the treasure hunter nodded. "And our ticket into the Sacred Garden." He reached out to grab the artifact.

"Wait," Judy urged, stopping the fox before he could touch it. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, this whole place was built to protect that key, right? What if there's some sort of trap? Like maybe those soldiers stab us or something..."

"What? No way, that'd be too much, even for a place like Henosia," Nick said with a dismissive wave at the soldiers. "Pretty sure they're just for show."

"Okay, maybe that would be too crazy, but there might be something else," Judy pressed. "It's just...something seems off about all this. Why would Wilde plan to attack this place and take the key just to end up putting it back?"

"Could be he never got it," Nick speculated. "It was pretty much him and a pawful of mammals against an entire fleet's worth of Blackhorn soldiers, and even the Blackhorns would've had a hard time getting past those defences. Could be they just didn't get this far and tried to find another way into the vault."

"Still, this is dangerous, Nick," Judy cautioned. "I feel like something bad will happen if we touch it." She was definitely thinking too much about the booby trap talk they had back at the temple. Nick was starting to wonder if maybe telling her about that was a mistake.

"There's a lot of uncertainty when it comes to treasure hunting, Fluff. Sometimes, you just gotta go with your instincts." The fox gave the hesitant bunny a cocky nod, "That's true for cops to, isn't it?"

"Yeah..." Judy hesitantly answered, still not sounding convinced.

"Well I've got a pretty good feeling about this one," Nick assured the rabbit. "Besides, it all turned out just fine when we did this at the temple, right?"

"You mean apart from the bit where Coastline showed up and it exploded?" Judy stared intently at the artifact, the gears seeming to churn in her head as she weighed the risks against the benefits. She eventually let out a sigh, her mind having been made up. "I hope you're right, Slick."

"_Pretty_ sure I'm right," Nick quietly mumbled as reached for the 'key,' gripping it in his paw and pulling it free of the metal plate. Looking it over, he could see intricate patterns etched into the 'stem' and each of the artifacts 'petals.' This thing was as much a work of art as it was a key, hell, it'd probably fetch a decent price on its own. Given how much the mammals of Henosia seemed to love showing off, Nick wasn't exactly surprised, apparently, even their damn keys had to be works of art. "See? What did I tell ya?" he boasted as he slid the artifact into the pack on his belt. "Piece of cake! I told you, just gotta trust your instincts sometimes."

_*Click* _

Nick and Judy's ears perked up at the sound, but it ended up being drowned out by the much louder sound of grinding of gears and something heavy falling. They turned towards the source of the noise just in time to see a heavy stone barrier slam down and seal the entrance they had come through, trapping them inside.

Judy nearly bounced straight into the air, her eyes going wide and ears stiffening in alarm. She immediately turned to Nick. "Was that supposed to happen?"

"Uhh," Nick could feel the tension piling on as his fur stood on end and his tail poofed out. "Gonna have to get back to me on that one…"

A low rumbling started from somewhere behind the stone walls of the chamber, quickly growing as they heard something rapidly approach. Judy's ears twitched as she realized what it was. "That sounds like-"

"Water," the fox finished. "Crap…"

Suddenly, a torrent of water burst into the room from a hidden alcove in one of the walls and the chamber started to flood. Judy managed to grab the torch in time and keep the water from putting it out, but at the rate the place was filling up, it'd hardly matter soon.

"We're trapped!" Judy exclaimed, frantically shoving against the sealed door blocking their way out. "I thought you said you had a good feeling about this!"

"_Feeling_, Carrots," Nick shouted back. "I said I had a good _feeling_ about this, that doesn't mean I was right! I already told you, there's a wide margin of error when it comes to this sort of thing!"

"Well that's just great!" the bunny yelled in exasperation, the water already nearly up to her waist. She looked over at the worn door on the opposite end of the chamber before running over to Nick. "Hold this," she ordered, shoving the torch into the fox's arms and nearly singing his fur in the process. "I've got an idea."

"What are you-" he was caught off guard as the rabbit made her way towards the damaged door, something round gripped in her paw. It was only when Nick looked down at his belt and noticed the grenade missing from his that he realized what she had taken.

"Whoa, wait, just wait a sec, Carrot, maybe we should-" the fox started to object before Judy pulled the pin on the grenade and threw it at the door. "Shit, never mind." He quickly followed the rabbit and dove behind the pedestal, the torch slipping from his paw and dropping into the water as he did. The chamber went pitch black, but it only lasted for a moment.

_*BOOM!* _

The explosion lit up the room, obliterating the door and sending chunks of rock flying past the pedestal, slamming into the walls and ceiling. The darkness quickly returned, but a light source was visible through the new opening. It wasn't much, but it was enough to partially illuminate the walls and water now rushing through the opening.

"Come on, let's go," Judy yelled as she made her way through the newly opened gap in the wall.

_*Crack* _

The rabbit froze, ears snapping towards the source of the noise. "...what was that?"

"I was trying to warn you right before you blew up the damn chamber, Fluff," Nick explained over the sound of more cracking stone. "Kinda asking for trouble when you start blowing shit up in what's supposed to be a watertight chamber."

The sound of cracking stone intensified as the walls and ceiling of the chamber started to crumble beneath the mounting pressure of the surrounding water, only getting worse as spouts of water started bursting through newly formed gaps in the wall.

"I…" Judy started, realizing just how big of a mistake she had made, but Nick was already shoving her down the hallway towards the newly opened passage.

"Run now, be embarrassed later!" the fox shouted as they both sprinted out of the chamber as fast as they could. The sounds of cracking stone and rushing water only got louder until the chamber collapsed and a surge of water came rushing through.

As fast as a rabbit and fox could run when properly motivated, a rushing flow of high-pressure water was still faster. Nick learned this the hard way when he felt the cold force of the front slam into him from behind, quickly overtaking and submerging him.

Nick fought through the shock, holding his breath and trying to reorient himself as the rushing water carried him along. Once he was fairly certain he knew which way was up, he made for the surface, gasping for air and choking on swallowed water when he finally broke the water. There was still enough light for him to see the reporter just ahead, struggling to stay afloat as the current dragged them both through the flooded tunnel. He wasn't quite sure what was at the end of the passageway, but he'd rather not wait long enough for the water to slam the two of them into it if he could help it.

"Grab onto something," Nick shouted over the roar of the rushing water, flailing at the walls and ceiling with his paws.

"Like what?" Judy yelled back. It sounded like she wasn't faring much better.

"Anything!" The fox clawed desperately at the wall as he started to approach the end of the tunnel. He could see the water ahead wasn't pooling, it was just dropping away. Glass half full, at least they wouldn't drown, but dropping into some deep pit wasn't exactly a preferable alternative.

Nick's attempts to grab onto something quickly went out the window as he was swept out of the tunnel, a brief feeling of weightlessness washing over as the water and ground both dropped out from under him. Without any time to think, he reached outward and felt the wind knocked out of him as he slammed into something rock hard. Starting to slip, he gripped tightly onto whatever he had hit, quickly noticing that it was some sort of ledge. Looking around, he saw that he was hanging off the edge of an exposed staircase, water still flowing from the tunnel he had just been ejected from and falling into an abyss down below.

"Judy?" he called out. He frantically looked around for any sign of the rabbit, worried that she may not have been quite so lucky.

"Over here, Nick!" Judy called from further down the staircase, already rushing up towards him.

"Thank the gods," Nick gasped, pulling himself up onto the staircase. "I thought you might have-"

"Not now, Slick!" the rabbit interrupted, pointing upwards towards light pouring through an opening at the top of a spiralling stairway. They must've found an alternate exit to the fortress' underground network. Given how elaborate the network was, it could've been anybody's guess as to where they'd ended up.

That speculation would have to wait though as a powerful spout of water burst out of the wall next to Nick, punching open a large hole and forcing him to stumble out of the way. The walls and lower stairway started to break apart as more spouts began exploding from the walls. Whatever trap they had triggered was probably more than a tunnel network that had been neglected for thousands of years could handle; the reporter blowing up the chamber probably didn't help matters either. They needed to get the hell out of here before this whole network came crashing down and buried them with it.

"Right, still about to die and all that," Nick looked at the staircase, seeing that it was still intact and spiralled all the way up to the opening at the top. "Save the celebrating for when we're not about to get buried alive..."

The two of them ran up the staircase as fast as they could. The fox's lungs began to burn in protest but he didn't pay it any attention, it was better than having them fill up with water. He could feel the steps beneath his feet becoming increasingly unstable and the sounds of rumbling and shattered stone ringing out as more and more of the stairs and tunnel collapsed behind him. As if to remind him how dire the situation was, chunks of stone began breaking off from the walls above, streaking past Nick and down into the pit below.

"Why does it seem like every ruin I go to with you winds up exploding or falling apart?!" Judy shouted as she scampered up the stairwell ahead of the fox.

"I swear it doesn't always end up like this," Nick answered. "You just seem to have caught me at a _really _bad time."

"If we get out of this alive, we're gonna have a long talk about your bafflingly destructive approach to archaeology," the rabbit growled.

"You're joking, right? Or did you seriously forget about the part where _you_ blew up the damn chamber! We're running for our lives now because you couldn't be bothered to-" Nick's rebuttal was cut short as a chunk of falling debris slammed into the staircase right behind him. The treasure hunter yelped in surprise and stumbled as the staircase cracked and broke beneath his feet. He quickly grasped an intact ledge with one of his paws and held on for dear life.

"Nick!" Judy gasped, turning around and trying to grab the fox.

"Shit!" Nick shouted as the ledge shifted and he slipped, falling out of the rabbit's reach and crashing back-first onto a lower level of the spiralling staircase.

"Ouch…" the fox groaned, as he struggled to get back up. "That hurt…"

"Nick, hold on, I'm coming," Judy shouted from above, moving to try and climb down after him.

"Don't worry about me," Nick shouted back. "Just go!" He started moving up, already feeling the staircase starting to buckle beneath him again. He quickly got back up to the newly created gap in the stairway and was about to jump across, only for part of the wall to fall away right in front of him.

"Holy shit!" Nick yelped, just barely managing to jump back from the collapsing wall as it took out the stairway in front of him. He watched as more of the stairway ahead of him collapsed along with it, leaving a gap too wide for him to leap. "Great...now what?" he looked around for another way up, spotting a wooden beam partway up the spiralling opening. It was close enough to reach with his grappling hook and it looked like it had been built into both sides of the wall, it was too bad those walls didn't look very stable.

"You've got to be kidding me…" the fox muttered, looking around for an alternative and finding nothing. "Why is every option always a crappy one?"

The treasure hunter pulled out his grappling hook, spinning it for the throw. "Please let this work…" He took a deep breath and threw the hook towards the wooden beam, time slowed to a crawl as he watched it fly through the air. To his relief, it managed to wrap around the beam and locked into place. Just then, the stairs gave away beneath Nick and he felt a short drop followed by a hard tug as the rope went taught in his firmly gripped paws, leaving him dangling in the air over a seemingly bottomless abyss. The beam shifted slightly under the fox's weight and he could hear the slight straining and cracking of wood, but it held. A fox wasn't exactly the heaviest of mammals, but given how this place was literally falling apart, Nick wasn't willing to put his faith in that beam holding for very long.

"Nick, hurry!" he heard the rabbit yell from above.

"I said go! Worry about yourself, Fluff!" Nick shouted back. "Throwing yourself to your death is about all you can do at this point and that doesn't really help me!" He quickly started pulling himself up the rope as fast as he could. He ignored the debris and collapsing rubble flying past him and the occasional shifting of the beam as he scaled the rope, putting one paw in front of the other. "Come on, please don't break, please don't break, please don't break, oh gods, please don't break..."

As soon as Nick was high enough to reach an intact part of the stairway he swung over, tugging the rope loose just as the beam gave away, ripping free from the wall with a loud crack and taking a small chunk with it into the pit below. "Thanks for waiting..." the fox muttered, not that the beam would appreciate the sentiment, being an inanimate piece of wood and all.

Not wanting to further test his luck, Nick started sprinting up the staircase again. He was shocked to see the bunny still standing on the staircase waiting for him. "I thought I told you to just go," Nick grunted as he made his way up towards the bunny.

"Yeah, well, your judgement has been pretty sketchy at the best of times," Judy responded, already turning and running up the staircase towards the exit. "So I decided I was better off just ignoring you."

_She's not wrong... _Nick thought to himself as he followed behind the bunny, he'd have been thankful that she didn't leave him behind if he wasn't too busy racing to stay ahead of the collapsing stairs and rubble. "Don't stop! Don't stop!" Nick yelled, trying to ignore the rumbling and cracking of stone around him. "Keep going! Keep going! Keep going!"

"Stop telling me to keep going!" the reporter shouted back at him.

"I'm not, I'm telling myself!" the fox yelled, focusing on the sunlight at the very top. If he could just push for a few more moments, he'd be over the top and back above ground again, then the damn fortress could collapse into dust for all he cared.

Everything became a blur as the fox kept pushing, his sole focus now on getting to that light and out of the fortress before it was too late. He didn't even notice when he stumbled out of the stairway and back onto the island surface, still running as fast as he could until he finally tripped and fell. His first instinct was to get back up and keep going, but once he realized that it was grass against his side and not the hard stone of the fortress floor, he looked over and saw that they'd made it clear of the tunnel and escaped the trap. With that revelation, he promptly flopped over and rested his head against the ground, opting to take a moment for some much-needed rest. He could hear more rumbling in the background, but he didn't give it any thought. Whatever it was, it wasn't going to fall on him, so simply didn't care.

"Nick?" he eventually heard Judy call after the rumbling died down. After a few moments pause, he rolled over and saw her standing above him, a concerned look on her face.

"Why Carrots, are you actually concerned for my wellbeing?" Nick smirked from on the ground. "No need to worry, I'm fine. just figured I deserved a moment's rest after nearly being smashed to the bottom of an ancient pit by a faulty booby trap."

"Oh, uhh...no…" Judy stammered an embarrassed look on her face as her fur turned a slight pink. "I was just going to ask if you got the key."

Nick couldn't help but chuckle to himself, it was adorable watching her try to cover her tail and avoid admitting she was worried about him. Still, he knew better than to prod, besides, he hardly had the energy for that kind of chat anyways. He reached into his pack and pulled out the flower-shaped artifact, holding it in front of the bunny. Aboveground, it managed to look even more magnificent, the curves and metal causing it to practically glisten in the sunlight. Or maybe he was just in a really good mood after the whole barely escaping from the trap with their lives ordeal. Either way, he sure as hell was glad to be holding it in his paws.

"Yeah. We got it."


	14. Aftershocks

"So...you planning on giving that back anytime soon?"

The rabbit shook her head, gaze fixed on the flower-shaped artifact in her paws. "Nope, think I'll be holding onto this for now."

"Are you sure?" Nick asked, patting the satchel at his side. "I mean...I've got the space…"

"Nick, are you worried I'm going to lose it or something?" Judy asked playfully, holding the artifact up for them both to see.

"Not necessarily…" Nick said, stroking the back of his neck. "It's just...after nearly getting lost, drowned, and buried underground, it would _really _suck if you ended up breaking it or something…"

"Seriously, Slick?" Judy rolled her eyes. "Given our track record so far, if anybody's liable to break something, it's probably you."

Nick just stared at the bunny, not having a good counter for that. It was true, his jobs rarely tended to go smoothly, even at the best of times. "Guess I set myself up for that one."

"You sure did," Judy smirked, putting the key in a small pack on her side. "So think I'll just go ahead and hold onto this,s, probably safer in my paws than yours."

As they pushed through the jungle brush, Nick opened his mouth to retort. The response never came though when he saw what lay ahead of them.

"What? No comeback?" Judy asked, looking over at the fox, oblivious to what had caught his attention. "Wow, mark this day down on the calendar. Nicholas Wilde, finally stunned into silence."

"Not stunned into silence, Fluff" Nick responded, pointing ahead. "Just way better at paying attention than you."

"Paying attention? What are you-" Judy stopped mid-sentence as she finally noticed what the fox was looking at. "Oh…"

Emerging from the brush, they had found themselves on the edge of a ravine with a network of heavily damaged ruins built into it. An extension of the Nocturnal Fortress, most likely, given the large number of barracks, barriers, and other defensive structures. Despite how old it was, most of the damage looked to be pretty recent. A large fissure had split right down the middle of the ravine with water flowing through it and strewn with rubble from buildings that had recently collapsed into it. There were also several fresh looking sinkholes scattered throughout that had swallowed some of the buildings.

"Raving radishes…" Judy muttered in shock. "Did _we_ do this?"

The relatively shallow depth of the fissure and a lack of smooth surfaces suggested that it had only been formed pretty recently. Nick wasn't sure where exactly the water had come from, but if he had to guess, it was probably from the water table that supplied the trap network they had set off in the labyrinth.

"Let's see...blowing up an underground network, tons of flooding, collapsing tunnels...would all of that have triggered a bunch of fissures and sinkholes?" Nick asked rhetorically. "I'm gonna go with...yes."

"Yeah…" Judy turned to Nick, nodding her head towards the ravine. "So I guess going that way is out of the question?"

"Probably. Can't imagine the ravine or those ruins being very stable after our little...misadventures, down below."

"Right...so...just stick to the edge?" the reporter suggested.

"Yeah, I'd say that's probably the least suicidal option..." Nick started following the edge of the ravine to the west. "See if maybe we can find a spot to cross without possibly getting swept up in a landslide or swallowed by a sinkhole."

"Let's just make this quick," Judy urged. "The longer we take, the more likely we are to run into Coastline, and I'd rather not risk going up against them aga-"

_*Ksssssh* _

"Nick, you there?" Finnick's voice called out over the radio, cutting off the doe's response. "Seriously, Kid, I'm not screwing around here, quit ghosting me and pick up."

"Crap," Nick cursed as he fumbled the receiver. "I'm here, Gramps! I'm here!"

"Finally, about damn time," the older fox growled with a mix of relief and frustration. "The hell took you so damn long? I've been trying to raise your dumb ass on and off for over an hour! What, you and the bunny get bored and have a tumble in the bushes or something?"

"What?!" the fox sputtered, feeling the temperature rapidly start to rise under his fur. "No, wha- I mean tha-," he struggled to respond, coughing awkwardly. "No, that's just...I wouldn't...I...I...uhh… we wouldn't...that's not something..." Looking over at Judy he saw that she was practically glowing pink beneath her fur. Wanting to blow past this as much as the rabbit seemed to, he cleared his throat and tried again. "So...uhh...what was it you were calling about?"

An awkward silence followed. "Gods…damn, Kid, I was just joking…" a stupefied Finnick finally responded. "There is _so _much shit that needs unpacking there, but it'll have to wait. We got a much bigger problem."

"Problem? Yes! Problem! Let's focus on that! And definitely not think about how weird things may or may not be getting..." Nick stumbled to respond.

"Godsdamn, Kid, just shut up, I'm not sure your dumb ass appreciates how serious this is," Finnick growled. "I've been listening in on Coastline channels, and it sounds like they found that little trail the bunny left behind at her landing site."

"Crap…" Nick looked at Judy, most of the pink had faded from her face, only to be replaced with anxiety. "You think somebody might've been listening in on us?"

"Maybe, we weren't exactly following secure radio protocols," Finnick responded. "Or could just have been dumb luck, they've got a lot of guys covering the island and they're zeroing in on any ruins they can find. Either way, there's a bunch of them heading your way. Don't have any exact numbers, but Cackler's with them so you can bet your tail it's gonna be a lot."

"Wait, you mean they're heading to the fortress?" Judy cut in, pulling the radio down to her. "As in, straight to the one on the map?"

"They _were_, why the hell did you think I kept trying to call you, to freaking shoot the shit?" Finnick answered. "Seems you two lucked out though, a bunch of tremors shook up the area nearby and sounds like they broke off to check it out."

Nick's tail went stiff as a sense of dread started to wash over him. Looking over, he saw the news had a similar effect on Judy, given her wide eyes and stiffening ears.

"So hope you guys finished whatever you were doing over there," Finnick continued, oblivious to how dire the news really was. "Get going now and you might be able to slip past while they're checking it out and be gone before they have a chance to catch up."

"Yeah…funny thing, about that, Gramps…" Nick hesitantly started.

"You two caused the tremors, didn't you…" Finnick said, seemingly already certain where Nick was going with this.

"We caused the tremors…"

"And they're probably heading right for you…"

"They're _definitely _heading right for us…"

There was a tense pause, followed by the desert fox saying three words. "Get. Out. Now." Then the radio went dead.

"Please tell me I had some sort of stroke that made me mishear that..." Judy said anxiously.

"Uhh, that depends," Nick responded. "Did your stroke make it sound like something _other _than that Cackler and a bunch of Coastline goons are on their way to kill us?"

Judy gulped. "That's not good..." She shook her head and starting running down into the ravine ruins. "We need to hurry!"

"Woah, woah, hang on," Nick called out, running after the rabbit. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm getting out of here before Coastline shows up! What are _you _doing?"

"Thinking of a way out that doesn't involve us charging straight into a large group of psycho mercenaries, that's what!" Nick countered. "Because if you head that way, I can promise that's what'll happen."

"And what would you do instead, Nick?" Judy shot back. "Go back the other way and let them box us in with our backs to the ocean? I don't know about you, but I can't swim all the way back to freaking Zootopia! We need to slip through now before they get here. It's not going to take them long to figure out we caused this."

"We need to do this quietly, Fluff, and taking a path that leads us on a collision course with Coastline is _not_ how we do that," Nick argued. "This might be hard for you to understand, but not every problem involving mammals can be solved with a bun fu kick to the muzzle." He pointed back up at the top of the ridge. "We need to put some space between us and them, maybe if we could-"

_*BANG!* _

As a chunk of wall burst right next to them, the fox and rabbit reacted on instinct, diving behind the nearest cover and slamming their backs behind the shattered remnants of a building that was halfway into a sinkhole. Mere moments later, the gunshot was followed up by a cacophony of weapons fire as more bullets started pounding against the building.

"Targets spotted!" a rather hostile sounding voice yelled over the gunfire.

"You want to finish that thought, Slick?"

Nick peered out from the wall and spotted three mammals. He made out a rather darkly coloured lion but was forced back into hiding when several more shots struck uncomfortably close before he could get a good look at the others.

_So much for doing this quietly… _

"Nope, think we'll just go ahead and do it the usual way," Nick said as he pulled his pistol from the holster. "Just make shit up as we go."

He stuck his pistol out the right side of their cover and blindly fired two shots. When the mercenaries directed their fire to that side, Nick motioned for Judy to follow him and they slipped out of cover on the opposite side, staying low as they moved a more intact building and up a set of partially collapsed stairs.

"How long before they figure out we moved?" Judy asked, eyeing the ruined that the mercenaries were still shooting the hell out of.

"Assuming they're idiots, probably about 30 seconds," Nick answered. "Gods, please let them be idiots…"

"Kid," Finnick's voice crackled over the radio. "Listen, I just checked in some of the other channels. There's something else you two need to know."

"Can it wait a minute?!" Nick frantically said over the gunfire. "Kinda busy here!"

"...That's them shooting at you right now, isn't it?" Finnick asked after a short pause.

"Well…technically not at us..." Nick responded. "Just...where they think we are."

"Shit...you two need to haul ass out of there now, there's gonna be a lot more where that came from very soon," Finnick urged. "If things weren't bad enough, it sounds like they got their paws on a-"

"Shit!" Nick glanced over, noticing more mercenaries coming out the jungle and heading their way. "Gotta go, Gramps, I'll get back to you when this is over." He keyed off the radio and craned his neck up, looking at the ridgeline overlooking the ravine. "We follow the stairs out of this ravine and make for the jungle, that should make us harder to track. Might even find a path around them if we're lucky enough."

"Really hate how much we've been relying on luck lately..." Judy muttered.

"Yeah, well unless you want to try your chances with _those _assholes," Nick said, jutting a thumb at the mercenaries now moving down the side of the ravine."This is all we've got."

Judy just nodded and followed behind Nick as they moved past the building and followed the stairway. The two of them nearly made their way to the top and out when the stairs suddenly shifted and gave away along with the slope, throwing them off their feet and sending them sliding back down into the ravine ruins.

"Oh, come on!" Nick yelled in frustration. He heard Judy shouting something, but he was too focused on an oryx mercenary at the bottom of the slope to pay attention.

The Coastline mammal was quick to notice them and open fire, but Nick and Judy were moving too fast and the shots didn't even land close. Fumbling for his pistol, Nick snapped off several shots as he slid down, managing to nail the mercenary twice in the leg. As the larger mammal stumbled, Nick's momentum propelled him forward as he slid right into the mammal's other leg. The mercenary let out a pained cry as both his legs fell out from under him and he slammed headfirst into the stone ground of the ruins.

"Ha! Talk about a 'dirt nap,'" Nick laughed. Tragically, the mercenary was too unconscious to appreciate his wicked burn.

"Seriously, Nick? Now of all times?" Judy asked incredulously.

"Just let me vent, a bit, will you, Fluff?" Nick snapped back as they took cover behind a small stone barrier. "It's zingers like those that keep me going."

"What zinger? That didn't even make sense, he hit his face on stone."

"Over there, behind the wall!" a voice yelled, followed by gunfire riddling the fox and rabbit's cover.

They peeked over the cover, seeing more Coastline mammals on the other side of the ravine separated by the water filled crevasse. Nick returned fire, managing to nail a boar clean in the head that had been standing out in the open. Apparently, he hadn't quite grasped the concept of cover as well as his comrades.

"We've got to find a way out of here!" Judy urged. "Or do you plan on trying to blow their minds with your 'zingers?'_"_

"I hope these smug jabs you're making will provide you with comfort when we're both on bleeding out and riddled with bullets because taking potshots at me was more important than helping," Nick snapped ar the rabbit, firing another couple shots at the mercenaries as he did.

A tremendous roar suddenly erupted from the other side of the ravine, followed by a loud crashing as one of the walls practically exploded. Chunks of rubble were sent crashing as a massive camo-painted vehicle plowed through. It was unlike anything Nick had ever seen before, as if a truck and a tank had some sort of badass baby. It sported an intimidating looking grill, four giant tires, and was covered almost completely in reinforced armour, even the windows were just more armour with narrow viewing slits. It was a rather discouraging sight for him and the bunny, even more so with the closed machine gun turret sitting on the truck's roof.

"Cheese and crackers..." Judy muttered in shock. "What is that?!"

To their dismay, the turret on top swivelled towards them. Nick could already see where this was going, it was hardly the first time a job had turned violent, although his enemies usually didn't pack this kind of firepower...

"Aw hell, get down!" Nick practically jumped on the bunny, pressing her as low to the ground as possible as the turret unleashed its salvo. A thunderous rattling of machine gun fire drowned out everything else as a frankly ridiculous amount of bullets started raining down on their cover, pinning them in place and gradually wearing down the stone barrier.

"What kind of maniacs bring this sort of hardware on a treasure hunt?" Judy yelled.

"Probably the kind that are used to blowing the shit out of their problems," Nick answered. Eyes darting around, he spotted an intact barracks just ahead of them that would at least last longer under such a relentless assault. "That building over there, that's our best chance."

"You sure?" Judy questioned.

"Don't really have any other options," Nick argued. "Or would you rather stay here and see how that bunny stubbornness of yours fairs against that turret once it's finished turning our cover to dust?"

Judy looked like she was about to argue before letting out a resigned sigh and readying herself, "I'm seriously having trouble telling which is worse; when you're right, or when you're wrong…"

"Can figure that part out later, Fluff." As soon as there was a lull in the gunfire, Nick nodded to Judy and they both sprinted for the ruined barracks as fast and low as they could. There was a brief lapse before the mercenaries realized what was going on and the area around the two was lit up with gunfire. Ignoring the bullets whizzing past them, they pushed hard across the ground and threw themselves behind the cover of the building.

"We made it," Judy gasped with relief. "Guess I'll be thankful for you being right this time."

"Looks like our luck is still holding out for now," Nick chuckled. The gunfire started to die down as it became clear the mercenaries couldn't hit them.

"They went west, behind that barracks," the voice of a familiar sounding hyena yelled over a loudspeaker on the truck. "Get your asses over there and cut them off!"

"Cackler…" Nick deduced "Guess we know where is, now."

"Apparently seeing to our demises, personally," Judy noted.

Suddenly, there was the rumble of an engine and screeching of tires. The reporter and treasure hunter both peeked out to see Cackler's truck driving back the way it came, disappearing behind the ruins and back into the jungle.

"Or...just taking the truck and bailing?" Judy questioned, her ears and head tilting to the side in confusion.

"More likely repositioning to get a better angle on us since he figures we'll be heading downslope," Nick speculated, loading a fresh magazine into his gun. "Smart mercs are always the worst…"

Judy peered past the wall again, seeing even more Coastline mercenaries coming out of the jungle and trying to cross the waterway to their side of the ravine. "Well, going back that way isn't an option," she stated. "So guess that makes him right."

"Hey, we've been...sort...of lucky so far," Nick said, making his way towards the other end of the building. "Maybe we'll be able to slip away before Cackler and the others can catch up."

"I feel like our luck is going to run out soon if we keep leaning on it so much," Judy replied, sliding up next to him to peer out into the ruins. "But...since we don't really have any other plan..."

Once they were sure the coast was clear, they started following a ruined pathway leading down the slope and past several more ravaged buildings. They could hear cracks as their weight strained the already unstable ruins, but they kept moving, hoping to just outrun any sinkholes that might open up. Glass half-full, maybe they'd create some gaps to slow down their pursuers.

"Please don't spot us, please don't spot us..." Nick muttered only to have his hopes shattered as he nearly stumbled into a zebra mercenary stepped around the corner of a sunken building, a grenade launcher gripped in his hooves. Given the wide eyed look of shock on the mammal's face and his choice of weapon, he probably wasn't expecting to run straight into them like this.

"Hey!" the equine yelled, raising his weapon to fire. Nick charged forward and ducked down, sliding into the zebra's leg. The larger mammal grunted and fell forward, falling to his knee as his weapon flew from his hooves, an errant round going off and flying wide of its intended target.

As the misfired round exploded somewhere behind the two of them, Judy bounced off the sidewall of the ruin and sailed towards the mercenary. She brought her foot down on the zebra's head in an aerial axe kick, smashing his muzzle into the ground hard enough to cause the stone to crack and split, knocking the mammal out cold.

"Holy petes, I didn't mean to kick that hard!" Judy gasped, eyes wide in shock. "I mean...I just wanted to knock him out, I didn't mean to hit so hard it'd crack the stone. I thought-" the bunny was cut off as bullets tore through the ruins again and Nick pulled her down behind a half-destroyed wall.

"Not the time to worry about excessive force, super cop," the fox said, poking his head over the wall to fire at a group of mercenaries on the other side. "Guessing those are his pals," he muttered in frustration. "So much for our luck holding out."

"Uhh, Nick?" Judy called out.

"Now what?"

"Remember what you said about getting swallowed by sinkholes earlier?"

"Yeah?"

"Well…"

The sound of cracking stone assaulted the fox's ears as a nearby building collapsed and crashed into the path they had just come from. As it hit the surface, the ground itself gave away with large portions of the path and ruins they had traversed collapsing into the waterway that split the ravine. It really was mystifying how just when the situation seemed like it couldn't get any worse, life always found a way to kick things up a notch.

"Cut off from escape by sinkholes and collapsing ruins, pinned down by a bunch of trigger-happy assholes..." Nick sighed in frustration, turning to look the other way. "Maybe we can get through this wa- ah crap…" his hopes were immediately dashed when he realized that for once, the building blocking their path was completely intact. There was no way for them to pass through or around it, at least not while they were pinned down like this. "At least things can't get any worse, right?"

Almost as if on cue, Nick's question was answered with the sound of a thundering engine and metal smashing against stone as Cackler's truck burst back into the ravine, planting itself on an elevated level opposite of them. The gunner in the turret wasted no time taking aim and firing at them.

"Godsdammit, that wasn't meant to be a freaking challenge!" Nick shouted in frustration as he stuck his pistol out of cover and fired blindly. He wasn't really certain who he was yelling at; maybe the mercenaries, or maybe his own seemingly cursed luck. "I mean come on! This many mercs and a tank on wheels against a fox and a bunny? You guys are seriously going overboard with the firepower!" That time it was definitely the mercs.

The Coastline response was swift and brutal, hammering their cover with a veritable hailstorm of bullets. Unable to come up with a proper rebuttal, Nick ducked low, planting his back against the wall, and looked over to see how Judy was doing. Her ears and eyes were frantically darting in various directions in what the treasure hunter assumed was some attempt to figure out an escape route. That was why he was caught off guard when she suddenly locked her gaze on the unconscious zebra of all things.

"Carrots?"

"I've got an idea," she gestured at the mercenaries and truck firing at them. "Just keep those guys busy for a few seconds."

"What are you-"

"No time!" she interrupted, heading towards the downed mercenary before he could respond.

Groaning in frustration, Nick stuck his head out and fired several shots at the mercenaries, ducking back down before they or the turret could take his head off. Concerned that might not be enough, he poked out again from the other side and emptied his magazine into the mercenary group's cover. He didn't hit any of them, but he was fairly certain he'd managed to get their attention when they began unloading everything they had into his cover. Certain that his adversaries were adequately distracted, Nick slumped down and loaded a new magazine into his pistol while bullets continued to ineffectually whiz by overhead. When he looked back up from his gun, he was caught off guard by the sight of Judy in front of him, struggling to balance a grenade launcher in her arms. The very same one the zebra mercenary had been carrying.

"Here, use this," she said, shoving the weapon into the fox's arms.

Nick looked down at the launcher and frowned. "You think _this _is gonna put a dent in the truck? That thing's practically a tank on wheels, Fluff. No way this will be able to punch through that armour."

Judy smacked her head in frustration. "The wall, Nick…" She pointed at the building across from them.

"Oh…" Nick blinked, looking down at the weapon and over at the building. "Well obviously." The fox readied the weapon, taking a deep breath as he waited for the right moment. He then stepped out of cover and fired a round directly at the mercenaries. He briefly saw two of them launched backwards by the blast before a cloud of dust kicked up, obscuring the rest.

"What the flipping beats are you doing?"

"Needed to put up a screen," Nick explained. "Or at the very least thin their numbers a bit." He then aimed the weapon at the neighbouring building. "Might want to cover your ears, by the way," he said right before firing a round at the wall, the blast blowing a sizeable hole in it. "Now go!"

As the mercenaries fired blindly through the dust, Nick and Judy dove through their newly formed escape route, sticking low to the floor and making themselves as small as possible once they were inside. Nick pressed a paw down on Judy's back to make sure both of them lay still until the gunfire stopped.

"Where the hell did they go?" Cackler's shouted over the truck's loudspeaker.

"No clue, boss. Couldn't see a thing through all that blimming dust! They must've made a break for it."

"Well, keep looking, they can't have gone far," Cackler ordered.

Nick and Judy head the truck's rev up again and the spinning of tires as it moved to reposition again. Not that either of them was eager to stick their heads out and see where exactly.

"Really need to stop fumbling from one cover to the next," Nick grumbled as he carefully got back up. Checking the grenade launcher's chamber, he found that there were still three rounds left. It was a pretty hefty weapon for a fox, but he slung it over his back anyways. Odds were that before the end of the day, he'd have to blow up some more walls, mercenaries, or both.

"Nick, this way!" Judy quietly called out, scampering up a ruined staircase. Following behind her, Nick saw a gap in the second-floor wall that opened up to the rooftop. From there, he could see adjacent rooftops connecting to the top of the ravine. An unconventional path, but one that could get them the hell out of here if nothing went wrong. Or at least, more so than it already had.

"Those rooftops could be our way out of here," the rabbit suggested.

"Might want to check our odds before blazingly charging out there." Nick poked his head out of the opening and peered over at the other side of the ravine. "And as usual, they don't look good…"

Across the ravine form them, the truck had set up in an open plaza that gave it a clear line of sight across most of the path they'd have to take, its turret tracing back and forth as the gunner searched for them. Several squads of mercenaries were moving down into the area as well, probably hoping to cross over and flush the two of them out into the open.

"Too many guns watching the path, it'll be a damn shooting gallery the second we make a break for it," Nick cursed. "They'll have a harder time hitting us from that distance, but still, there's got to be a less crazy way out of here."

"Well, I know this is usually your thing to say," Judy whispered, placing a paw on Nick's back as she looked out of the hole. "But it's better than sitting here and waiting for them to find us. Doubt we're lucky enough to dodge several squads worth of gunfire at point-blank range."

"I know," Nick sighed. "Still, this option's only slightly less suicidal." He took a deep breath and nodded at Judy. "Screw it, at least this way the turret will make it quick if things go sideways."

The bunny nodded back, keying herself up she made a running leap through the opening. Nick followed right behind, quickly jumping after her.

"Hey! Up there, on the rooftops!" Cackler's tinned voice bellowed across the ravine.

"Just keep moving," Nick shouted, nearly stumbling as he landed. He corrected and pushed ahead, doing his best to keep clearing the gaps between roofs and ignoring the gunfire as the truck and mercenaries opened fire. "Just need to get across and make a break for the jungle!"

The vulpine's ears flicked at the sound of an engine firing up to a roar. Despite himself, Nick couldn't help but look over. What he saw was as baffling as it was horrifying. "The hell?"

Cackler had apparently decided to throw caution to the wind and his truck was now charging right towards them. Nick wasn't sure if it would be able to clear the waterway and reach their side, but he wasn't exactly in a hurry to find out. "Crazy bastard!" he yelled as he turned around and started sprinting again.

As the engine got louder, he learned the hard way that the truck had indeed managed to clear the waterway when the rooftop he was on suddenly exploded beneath his feet in a shower of cracked stone and rubble. Nick yelped in alarm as he fell and landed right on top of the truck's hood, rolling off it and onto the ground. A faint pain in his side and ribs as he landed right in front of the truck's grill and the vehicle's engine practically growling like some sort of ungodly predator gone savage.

"Ow…"

"Nick!" the fox felt a paw grasping his arm and helping him up. Evidently, Judy had taken the fall far better than him. But then again, she hadn't nearly been run over by a truck...tank...whatever. "Come on we gotta move!"

Shaking himself out of his daze, Nick shrugged off the pain and took off running, pushing Judy in front of him. "I'll manage, just go!"

After the two of them vaulted over the shattered remnants of the building Cackler had just smashed through, they heard the engine surge up again as the truck charged forward. Nick pulled himself and Judy to the side as it screeched right past, obliterating what was left of the building and smashing into a wall ahead of them.

"Freaking fiddleheads, this Cackler guy _really _doesn't like you!" Judy yelled as they ran.

The truck backed up, rubble falling off its hood and side as it got ready to take another shot at them. The turret rotated and fired in their direction, but with all the sudden turns and shifts the truck was making, the shots didn't even come close to hitting them. Not that they'd need to if that steel monstrosity got close enough to splatter them between its grill and the ruins.

"I guess I just have that effect on mammals," Nick shouted as they ran past another building. "Just tend to elicit a strong emotional response out of- oh shit!" he was cut off as the truck burst through the building, narrowly missing him and Judy as it swung wide.

"Down there!" Judy shouted, pointing at the barrier of a ledge that dropped down to a lower level of the ruins.

The reporter and treasure hunter both hopped over the barrier just as the truck rushed at them again. It crashed through the barrier but managed to stop in time before plummeting over the edge. Without any time to get away and not wanting to risk being caught out in the open with that turret, Nick and Judy dodged falling debris as they jumped behind a nearby pile of rubble.

Peering over the cover, Nick saw that the vehicle had managed to get stuck on the ledge, one wheel hanging over and pinning it in place. "Pretty sure you won't be getting that deposit back," Nick smirked. The truck's wheels screeched as the driver tried in vain to dislodge it. Despite being stuck, the truck proved itself to still be a threat when the turret managed to swing around and start firing on him and Judy again.

"Crap, shouldn't have counted them down just yet." Nick pressed his back against their cover and looked around. To his irritation, he saw that there wasn't any safe way out without getting shot, not with that turret so close and practically above them. "Don't suppose you see a way out of here that doesn't involve us getting shot?"

"What about the grenade launcher?"

"Did you miss the part about that thing being armoured?"

"Then use it to knock them down, smartass!" Judy snapped back.

Nick looked back at the ledge Cackler's truck was hanging off of. It didn't look like it would hold out for long, and a vehicle that large crashing into the unstable floor below might just be enough to cause the ground to give away and send the truck rolling all the way down the slope. Hell, it could even be enough to put the damn thing out of commission for good.

"Not like I have any better ideas..." Nick pulled the grenade launcher from his back. Leaning out of cover for a clear shot, he fired a round at the Coastline vehicle. As the explosive connected against its armour, the blast rocked the truck and it slipped forward a bit more, stone starting to crack and break away as the ledge began to falter.

"Hit it again," Judy shouted.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Nick asked rhetorically as he ducked back behind cover before the turret could hit him. He leaned out from the other side and fired another round, this time the truck bucked even further forward as more of the ledge gave away.

"Come on Nick, you almost got him!"

"Mind the gap, asshole," Nick yelled as he fired one final round. The resulting explosion shook the truck and there was a metallic groan as it slipped from the collapsing ledge and plummeted straight into the ground. As it crashed into the level below, the surface practically shattered apart as the truck, and chunks of stone rubble rolled into the waterway that split the ravine and started tumbling down the slope.

"Woohoo! Nailed it!" Nick shouted in triumph. He was about to ready himself for his well earned victory boast, only for the damn ground to trip him up on his victory lap by cracking apart beneath his feet. The launcher flew from his paws as he stumbled and fell backwards, sliding down towards the waterway.

"Nick!" he heard Judy yell, hopelessly trying to grab him as he slipped out of reach.

"Son of-" he started, only to feel the wind knocked out of him as crashed into the waterway at a bad angle and was flung down the slope after Cackler's truck. He tried to curl into a ball, managing to blunt the force of his tumble a bit until he felt a sudden drop and crashed abruptly onto a level ground surface.

"Why does this crap keep happening to me..." he muttered as he shook his head. His body throbbed with a dull ache, but on the bright side, the lack of sharp pain meant he probably hadn't broken anything. "I'm going to need a long-ass vacation when this is over…"

As Nick started to take in his surroundings, he saw that his fall had managed to take him all the way to the end of the slope and over a short ledge, dropping him down on a level surface where the ravine had opened up into the surrounding jungle. The ground was soaked with water from the recently formed waterway, most of it just slowly spreading out across the flat surface. Far more interesting, though, was the smoking wreck of the armoured Coastline truck just a few meters away.

"Welp, looks like Cackler's _definitely _not getting that deposit back now," Nick said with a tired smile. The truck had been completely totalled. It was laying on its side with massive dents and gashes riddling the armoured frame. The turret had been torn loose and thrown clear of the wreck along with two of the tires. Even the engine block had been shredded with pieces of it scattered across the ground, the remaining husk giving off smoke and small flames.

"Well, this is gonna make for one hell of a story, assuming I live to tell it. Better scram before any more Coastli-"

_*Clang*_

Nick's ears flicked towards the sound of something bashing against metal inside the wreck. Looking up, he saw the door on the top side of the truck fling open. It swung around and broke loose, falling onto the ground with a clatter. A paw reached out from the wreck, followed by the battered figure of Cackler as he pulled himself out and hopped down, landing on the ground with a pained grunt.

The hyena shook his head and looked over, finally seeming to notice Nick. There was blood trickling down the side of his face and a bruise seemed to be forming, but all things considered, he was in pretty good shape for a mammal who had undergone an experience not too dissimilar from being locked in a dryer rolling down a hill. As he looked at the fox, his single working eye narrowed and he quickly drew a gun from his holster. Nick was quick to mirror the action with his own.

"Hey, now, let's not make any rash decisions," Nick said, staring the hyena down. "I'll admit, things have gotten a little out of paw as of late, but does this really need to end with any more mammals getting shot? What do you say we both step out of our comfort zones and try something unconventional like talking it out?"

Cackler spat out some blood in response and scowled. "If you seriously think I got to where I am today by 'talking it out' with my competition, especially one as disruptive as you, then Dante has _greatly_ overestimated how clever you are."

"Oof...okay...could've just said no, not sure why you had to go for my ego like that," Nick said, slowly backing away as he kept his gun levied on the mercenary. "But if you're not in the mood for talking, then I'm going to have to take my leave and find mammals who better appreciate my company. Unless you'd rather we just both shoot each other here and now, but I think we both would much rather live long enough to get a good payday."

"Well, Wilde, you certainly are right, I would prefer a good payday," Cackler responded. The sound of cocking guns suddenly broke out from all around them. "As do my boys here, which is why I figured they'd show up if I stalled long enough."

As Nick's ears flicked out in alarm, he glanced around and saw mercenaries approaching from the jungle and the ravine ruins, all with their weapons pointed right at him. He let out a sigh, this was turning out to be a _really _lousy day...

"Crap…"

"Okay, _now_ I'm in the mood to 'talk, it out.'" The hyena pointed at Nick with his free paw and then to the ground. "Soon as you toss your weapon."

"Alright, you got me, Cackler." Nick relented, throwing his gun to the side. "Still though, taking this long to get me with all the friends you brought with you. Not to mention how I even managed to trash your new toy and bloody you good." A smug smirk crawled onto the fox's muzzle as he spoke. "That certainly won't look good on the resume."

"Don't be too proud of yourself, Wilde. It's just a scratch," Cackler growled as he holstered his own gun. "And this job's payoff will more than make up for the trouble you've caused ." The mercenary turned around and banged twice on the side of the wrecked truck. "Orka! Ross! You two still alive in there? Just groan if you are."

The hyena was only answered with silence. "Guess those two weren't so lucky." He shook his head as he looked back at Nick. "Too bad, they were pretty good."

"Guess luck trumps skill," Nick sassed.

"Boss-mam, you alright?" a familiar sounding voice called from behind Nick. Looking back, he saw a cheetah mercenary with a set of bandages covering up a head wound, the same one Finnick had given him when they escaped from the temple a week earlier.

_What was his name, again?_ Nick thought back to when he was listening in to the cheetah and his partner on the radio. _Think it was...Baju? Yeah, Baju._

"I'll be fine," Cackler waved off. "Just see to Wilde, make sure he doesn't try to pull anything."

"Wilde?! Where the hell is that bastard?!" a second voice yelled. Just past the cheetah was an equally familiar and very irate looking nyala with a single horn.

Tanger, the other half of the duo that had been so thoroughly thrashed by Finn and Judy, and it certainly showed. There was a slight limp to his step, probably from Finnick's literal ballbusting. Bandages also covered up a good portion of the side of his head where Judy had snapped his horn off. Even with all the bandages though, Nick could still see the bruises underneath.

"Tanger! Buddy!" Nick called out, mockingly opening up his arms. "Nice to see you doing so much better now. You ever find that other ball? Or did Finn manage to smack it all the way up into your ribcage?"

Tanger's ears rose up in fury and he let out a ferocious snort. To say that Nick had managed to light a fuse under his tail would've been a gross understatement. The red glow beneath the antelope's fur was so intense, he half expected literal steam to start shooting out of the mammal's ears and snout.

"You little son of a-" the enraged mercenary spat out, stomping straight past his partner and towards Nick. Baju was quick to grab his partner from behind with an arm lock though, keeping him from reaching the fox.

"Woah bru, whoah! Take it easy," the cheetah urged, struggling to hold the furious mammal in place. "Don't want to do anything that'll piss off the boss, eh?"

"I'm gonna beat the shit out of him," Tanger yelled, struggling to break free. Nick had to step back out of the way of a flurry of hooves as the enraged mercenary tried to kick at him.

"Like hell you are." Cackler stepped in, shoving the nyala back. "I've got questions for him."

With an almost savage growl, Tanger wrestled free of his partner's grip and stepped toward Cackler. "Look at this," he yelled, locking his eyes on the hyena as he pointed at the broken stub that used to be his horn. "I lost my godsdamn horn because of this _brak _and his crew, not to mention that they slammed me in the damn balls. There's no way in hell he gets a pass! Every single one of us has stomped mammals into paste for far less and you know it!"

Cackler paused for a moment, looking into Tanger's eyes and then back at Nick, rubbing his still bloody muzzle in thought. Nick had to fight the urge to gulp, he knew that Cackler was trying to figure out a compromise, one that would probably spell more pain for him.

"Fine, you get _one _free shot," Cackler said, raising a single digit. "Hooves only."

A menacing grin crept across Tanger's muzzle as he cracked his knuckles and stepped forward. Cackler grabbed the antelope by the shoulder with a paw before he could get too close.

"Stomach only," the hyena commander ordered. "I need him able to talk."

"That's hardly fair," Tanger objected.

"Well it's all your getting," Cackler countered, releasing his grip on his subordinate. "So you'll just have to make the most of it."

"Come on guys, is this really necessary?" Nick tried to reason. "I mean there's been enough misunderstandings already, right? How about we try mixing things up and settling this little dispute with some nice, civil conversa-"

The rest of that sentence left Nick along with most of the air in his lungs as the nyala's closed hoof slammed right into his stomach, briefly lifting him into the air and then sending him crashing back down on his side. The shock of pain practically paralyzed him as he gasped for air, curled over and cusping both his paws over the agonizing pain in his stomach.

"Or...that…" Nick wheezed. "That works...too…"

"What about the reporter?" he heard Cackler asking. "Anybody manage to get her?"

Despite the pain, Nick silently panicked. With everything that had happened, he had no idea what happened to her.

_Judy… _

"No clue, boss," he heard Baju answer. "The boys all came running as soon as we saw you wipe out, she must've slipped away into the jungle."

_She got away...thank the go- _

Nick's relief was interrupted by a sharp pain in his backside as some asshole's foot drove into it. He let out a pained yelp as his back reflexively arched in response, only to double forward again as it caused another spiking sensation in his stomach.

"I said just _one_, Tanger!" Cackler barked.

"What?" the nyala said dismissively, seemingly unmoved by his superior's displeasure. "He can still talk."

Cackler huffed in annoyance and crouched down, looking Nick right in the eyes. The hyena's scarred face was hardly the most charming at the best of times, but this close, the claw marks and clouded over eye managed to look even more unsettling. The still bloody muzzle certainly wasn't helping either.

_Seriously, is he ever going to wipe that off? _

"Now that I have your attention," Cackler began. "How about you answer some questions for me?"

"Gladly…" Nick croaked out with a cough. "Just do me a favour. If any more beatings are coming, try to avoid the face, please. I've got a hot date later…"

The hyena rolled his single working eye. "I know, you and that bunny reporter."

"It's not...like that…"

"Of course not…" Cackler responded, not sounding even remotely convinced. "As long as we're on the subject of Hopps, she seems to have given my boys the slip. So how about you tell me where she'd scamper off to."

"Got me," Nick answered, shrugging awkwardly on the ground. "That bunny's a real free spirit, loves doing her own thing. Couldn't tell you where she'd be for the life of me. Did you know she wanted to be a _cop?_ I mean seriously, where does she get these crazy ideas? You try to tell me _you_ can predict what a rabbit as out there as she is would do."

"Shut up," Cackler growled, cutting off Nick's unhelpful answer. "What about your partner?"

"Gramps? Oh, he probably high-tailed it outta here for the closest bar," Nick responded with a strained chuckle. "Bet he's looking to pick up the first gal with low enough standards to give him a shot."

"You really like wasting my time with inane jokes, don't you?" the hyena said with an irritated sigh.

Nick countered with another awkward shrug. "Just my way of coping with the stress of the job."

"He has no clue where they are," Tanger interjected. "Let's just put a round in his head and be done with it."

"Not happening." Cackler shook his head at Tanger. "He's the reason we got this far and he still might be of some use to us. Besides, Dante's gonna want to have a face to face with him."

"The rich boy?" Tanger scoffed. "Screw what he wants, all that striped asshole does is yell at us all day and strut around like he owns the place. Why the hell should we keep this _brak _alive for him?"

"Because he's the one keeping our entire crew afloat," Cackler barked at the nyala, baring his teeth as he grabbed his subordinate's shoulder and pulled him in close. "So do something smart for once in your pathetic life and check that attitude of yours. Unless you want a reminder on the sorts of things preds used to do to hoofers like you…" Even from on the ground, Nick could see Tanger's fur being ruffled by the hyena's breath.

"Come on, bru, just let it go," Baju cautioned, placing a paw on the prey mammal's other shoulder. "You don't really want to get turned inside out over this, do you?"

Tanger glanced at the cheetah and then back at Cackler, a conflicted look on his face as a war between his fury and reason raged. Reason seemed to win out though as the antelope shook off Cackler and Baju's paws, spitefully spitting on the ground as he stormed off grumbling to himself.

"Smart choice," Cackler nodded as he turned and pointed at Nick. "Get him to the forward outpost while I get a hold of Dante, I saw some old jail cells that will do. And make sure it's one that a fox won't be able to squeeze out of, because if I have to explain to Dante how we caught Wilde only to lose him again, it'll be _you _I turn inside out."

"Sure thing, boss," the spotted feline nodded, hiding a gulp that only Nick seemed to notice. The next thing he saw was the butt of the cheetah's rifle swinging down into his face before everything went dark.


	15. Henosia Prison Blues

_Author Note: It's that time again! Another week, another update! Only a few weeks to go and then we'll have caught up completely with the AO3 version. Still need to figure out the finer details of the plan once I get there, but oh well, that's my problem to deal with for now. You guys just enjoy the chapter. :D_

* * *

This was it! As hard as he had fought, Nick was cornered with nowhere to go. But he wouldn't go down, no way, not against the likes of Dante. Turning around, he stood firm and stared down the zebra, his face grim with determination. Even with a gun drawn on him, he would not let this psycho intimidate him. "Well 'Stripes,' looks like you've finally managed to box me in. So what happens now?"

Dante threw his head back and laughed. "Muahahahaha! You were a fool to think you could outsmart me, Fox! I've had your number from the very beginning!" The zebra was smug, cocky, he was certain he'd all but won at this point. And that would be his downfall. He raised the gun to Nick's head, "Any last words?"

"Just a little advice," Nick answered, taking a step towards the zebra.

"Oh? And what's that?" Dante responded with a mocking sneer.

"Always bet on red!"

_POW! _

Before Dante even knew what was happening, Nick kicked the gun out of his hoof, catching it in midair in a spectacular athletic display and turned the gun on its former owner. The zebra could only let out a shocked gasp, unable to react until it was already too late.

_PEW! PEW! PEW! _

The zebra clutched at his chest in agony. "Argh, you got me! I was wrong to doubt such a strong and handsome and oh so very smart fox. The treasure rightfully belongs to you, the totally legitimate descendant of Sir Francis Wilde. If only I wasn't such a massive asshole and gave you the respect you deserve…I realize that only now, far too late..."

With his totally in-character monologue finished, Dante fell to his knees. "Herk!"

He rolled over onto the ground. "Blargh!" The zebra breathed his last breath and just like that, he was no more.

Suddenly, Judy ran in from seemingly nowhere and jumped at Nick, excitedly wrapping her arms around his chest. "Nick! You did it! You saved the day you brave and handsome fox! You're my hero!"

"Always knew you had it in ya, Kid," Finnick applauded, nudging the victorious treasure hunter. "You sure are a better treasure hunter than I am now or ever was, and that's the real reason I always give you such a hard time."

"Ah, it was nothing you guys, I didn't even break a sweat," Nick said, smiling confidently. "Now come on, what do you say we take what's ours and get out of here!" He was about to take his leave when a grey paw reached for his arm.

"Wait!" Judy urged, grabbing the fox's attention. "There's just something else I wanted to say. Something I've always wanted to tell you. I...I think...no, I _know _...that I'm in love with-"

_*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* _

"Oi! Shut that godsdamn trap of yours, Wilde!" the irate nyala mercenary yelled as he banged on the metal bars of Nick's cell. "It's bad enough they got us stuck in here watching your worthless tail, but I'll be damned if I have to spend another minute sitting here listening to any more of your bullshit one-liners!"

Nick lowered his paws and just like that his 're-enactment' of his glorious victory over Dante was over, the silhouettes of himself and Judy fading away to be replaced by the shadowy outline of his paws against the light. "Aww, come on Tanger! I was just getting to the best part! Don't you wanna see how it ends?"

"Yeah, come on, bru, let him finish! I was just starting to get into it!" the cheetah mercenary chimed in from the box he had been sitting on top of. "Besides, not like we have anything better to do sitting around waiting for Cackler and Rich Boy to show up."

"_You_, shut the hell up!" Tanger growled, jabbing his hoof into the feline's chest. "I swear, that branch to the head is making you dumber by the minute."

"Aww, don't be so hard on poor ol' Baju," Nick said with a smug grin. "He's just trying to make you feel better, and why shouldn't he? What with your missing horn and what happened to your balls, a nice little show would probably be exactly what you need to take your mind off whether or not the other one will ever drop back down again."

Tanger promptly bashed the jail cell with his hoof again, "I said shut it, _domkop! _The boss said we need you for questioning, but he didn't say anything about me breaking that damn muzzle o' yours."

He knew he shouldn't, it was a bad idea. Tormenting your captors was rarely what most mammals would consider a wise course of action, especially one with such a short fuse that he made Finnick seem calm and collected by comparison. But Nick was bored senseless, and now that Tanger had put an end to his little show, setting him off was his only other option for keeping distracted. Even if the mercenary did get violent, it'd still probably beat sitting quietly in the cell and thinking about the horrible things Dante would likely do to him once he finally got here.

"Wouldn't breaking my muzzle mean I wouldn't be able to answer any of your boss' questions?" Nick pointed out, deciding to just damn the consequences and go for it. He formed the widest and most smug grin he could possibly manage as he said it.

"The fox is right, bru, can't answer any of the boss' questions with a broken muzzle," the cheetah remarked with a nod. "Too much mumbling and the jaw just flapping about, can never make any sense of what the hell those poor bastards are trying to say."

Tanger snorted furiously, shooting the cheetah the darkest glare imaginable. Nick was truly blessed, for one of his guards have such a short fuse and for the other to be such a colossal moron, it was a powder keg just waiting to go off. Watching these two idiots beat the shit out of each other would be exactly the kind of entertainment he needed. If he was lucky enough, maybe he'd even have an opportunity to escape. No regrets at all, he was certain that pissing the nyala off was the right call. Or at least, that's what he thought until the mercenary turned back to him and shoved his hoof through the jail bars, grabbing Nick by the scruff of his shirt.

_Wait a- _

Before he could finish processing what was happening, Tanger pulled him face first right into the bars of the jail cell. The whole world exploded into stars around him as he bounced off the bars and crashed onto the cell floor. He couldn't tell what was going on anymore, all he knew was that his head hurt like hell...again.

_Oh gods! Why? Why?! Why did I do that?! Why didn't I just stay quiet?! It hurts so much! I regret it! I regret everything! This is all your fault! Damn you Nick from 15 seconds ago! You did this to me! I swear I'll find a way to make you pay...Shit, am I seriously swearing revenge on myself now? I think all those blows to the head might be causing me to lose my godsdamn mind... _

"Seriously bru, you've got issues," Nick heard Baju say somewhere out of sight. Not that he could see much of anything now that he was flat on the ground and just staring at the ceiling.

"And? That's not my problem, but it will be for the next poor asshole that ends up in my sights during one of these jobs," Tanger responded with a chuckle. His voice and the cheetah's both faded to a muted murmur as the fox heard a door open and then slam shut.

Once the dizziness faded and the pain started to dull, Nick shook his head and sat back up. Just as he suspected, his guards had left the room. It was just him now, alone in the same prison cell he had woken up to, nothing but a stone slab to sleep on and a small barred window on the back wall.

He got up and peered through the bars again. It didn't have much of a view, and it certainly didn't do much to help him figure out where he was. Probably an outpost of some sort from what he could tell. There was a small courtyard in front of him that ended in a wall, along with an archway that probably went somewhere, but he had no idea. Apparently it was road accessible though since the courtyard had two jeeps parked in it, both with winches on the front and one with a mounted machine gun in the back where the rear seats would've been.

_If I could just find a way to get to those jeeps... _

"Shut the hell up you mangy cat!" Tanger's muffled voice yelled from somewhere beyond the walls of his jail cell. He heard Baju say something back, but he couldn't make it out and before he knew what was happening, the argument broke down into a back and forth of muffled shouting that he couldn't make sense of.

"Guess they're too busy giving each other crap to worry about me," Nick thought out loud. "Perfect."

He looked around the prison cell, he didn't exactly have much to work with, but hopefully, now that his two guards were too busy fighting each other to keep an eye on him, it would be enough. He rubbed his paws together. "Time for a bold, unstoppable escape plan!"

* * *

"Ugh, this sucks!" the fox moaned to himself. "Why the hell can't I think of anything?!"

Three hours, Baju and Tanger had left him alone to yell at each other on and off for three freaking hours. And what did he have to show for it? Nothing! Nothing but a rubber ball he managed to get his paws on, probably Baju's if he had to guess. It seemed like just the sort of thing that dumb cheetah would mess around with. And now here he was, with no plan, just bouncing the damn ball off the wall to pass the time and hope it might somehow spark an idea. "So glad the others can't see me right now…feels like even this ball is starting to mock me."

As he caught the ball and readied to throw it again, he was startled by the sound of the door to his room screeching open and the ball flew out of his paw, rebounding off the wall and smacking him right in his head. "Et tu, ball?" Nick mumbled. He stared at the ball as it bounced along the floor and slowed down to a gradual roll.

"Well, that's surprising," a gruff voice said. Turning his head, Nick saw the grizzled muzzle of Cackler, the door closing shut behind him as the hyena entered the room.

"What, that I'm still here?"

"That you're just sitting there staring at what I can assume is that idiot Baju's ball," the mercenary commander responded with a shake of his head. "Given how irritatingly resourceful you've proven to be, I expected you to be at the very least in the middle of some half-cocked escape attempt."

"Guess I'm in a bit of a slump, sue me." Nick shrugged. "Came in alone, so I'm guessing you don't want Baju and Tanger in here derailing our little 'chat.' And seeing as your boss, ol' Stripes-"

"Partner."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Scarface," Nick said with a mocking wink, earning himself an irritated scowl from the hyena. "Anyways, since your 'partner' isn't with you, I'm guessing he hasn't arrived at...wherever we are, yet."

"Dante's on his way, he'll be here in a couple hours," Cackler answered. He walked up to the cell bars and leaned down to get closer to the fox. "I figured before he got here, we'd have a 'little chat' as you put it."

"Not like I'm going anywhere." Nick got up and stretched, letting out an irritatingly long yawn as he leaned against the bars of his cell. "Gimme your best shot."

"Your partner and the reporter. Where did they go?"

"Really? This again, Scars?" Nick sighed. "First off, what the hell makes you think I'd just throw them under the bus like that? I'm not like you glorified guns-for-hire, I actually have some moral standards."

The hyena kept a straight face, but even then, Nick could hear the faintest hint of a growl rumbling from the mercenary. Not that it surprised him much, he'd have said Cackler was in a bad mood, but he was seriously starting to think 'bad mood' may as well have been the larger predator's default setting.

"And second," Nick continued. "How the hell would I have any clue where they went? We didn't exactly have time to put together a plan or anything when your welcome party blew us out of the freaking sky. They could be literally anywhere on the island by now."

Cackler let out an irritated sigh. "You must think I'm an idiot, Wilde."

"Your words."

"I know you and your partner were keeping in touch over the radio channels," Cackler pressed, ignoring the fox's jab. "And I know he was feeding you info on our movements. You may have been dumb enough to get caught, but I doubt you were dumb enough to go after that key without _some_ sort of plan."

The mention of the key was enough to get the fox's attention. He tried to remain impassive, but he never was much of a hustler. Maybe his tail poofed out a bit too much, or maybe his ears flicked. Whatever it was that gave him away, Cackler sure seemed to notice.

"Oh that's right, we know what you were looking for in that fortress," Cackler continued. "And I'm fairly certain you found it. Since you didn't have it, I can only assume that means you pawned it off to either the reporter or your partner."

Nick fought against the anxiety welling up in his chest. Normally he'd try to avoid giving away the fact that Cackler had provoked a reaction, 'never let them see they got to you' and all that, but he'd already screwed that up. He'd just have to settle with not giving the mercenary anything else. The guy was fishing, Nick just had to resist the bait.

"I don't know what that key does, but Dante seems to think it's important, so that means we're _going _to get it, no matter what it takes or who's bloodied corpse I have to pry it from," the hyena threatened. "So if I were you, I'd quit screwing around and tell me where your partners are. The three of you can still walk away from this if you play along. Or you can keep being a smartass and make me do this hard way. I'll still get what I want while you lot will end up food for the maggots."

"Wow, you're an even worse hustler than I am," Nick smirked. "I know how you mercenary types run, if you seriously thought you could track the others down, you wouldn't be speaking to me at all." The fox arched his back and let out a bored yawn. "Besides, given your track record so far and how tightly Dante's been gripping your leash, I can't say that I'm worried. And I'm sure Gramps and the bunny aren't either."

With a vicious growl, Cackler grabbed Nick by both shoulders and pulled him against the cell bars, pinning him right in front of the hyena's snarling muzzle. As nice as it was of the mercenary to not slam him into the bars the way Tanger did, being forced to look straight into Cackler's scarred up face and lifeless clouded eye made for an unsettling substitute.

"Okay, guess I pushed it too far," Nick grunted, struggling to speak as his muzzle pressed against the bars. "Was it the yawn? I'm guessing it was the yawn."

"I know your type, Wilde," Cackler said, baring his teeth at the fox. "Just some cocky asshole who thinks he's something special. Well let me tell you something, you're not. You're just some bumbling brakk with a freakishly long lucky streak. But here's the thing about luck. Eventually, it runs out."

"I don't know about that, things always seem to work out for me," Nick responded. "That is...until you showed up with the truck…"

"You think you're destined for greatness or something," the hyena continued. "But you've got nothing coming your way. You're just like every other overly ambitious asshole looking for a big score." Nick felt the bars start to press against him even harder as Cackler pulled him closer. "Here's the truth, you and your crew killed a lot of my boys. If it were up to me, I'd toss your worthless hide to the rest of them and watch as they skin you alive."

The hyena released his grip and Nick stumbled backwards, tripping and colliding with the back wall of his cell. His gaze remained locked on Cackler as he slid down until he was sitting on the floor. "But despite my insistence, Dante seems to think you're worth more to us alive than dead, so you get to keep living, for now anyway. I'm sure he'll change his mind once he sees what a waste of time you are."

"What was that part about you saying he wasn't your boss, again?" Nick asked, resisting the urge to rub at his sore muzzle. "Kinda getting mixed messages."

"Keep joking Wilde, we'll see what good that snark does you once you've outlived your usefulness," Cackler shot back. "After all, it's easy to make mammals disappear out here when you're the one with all the guns." The hyena turned around and headed for the door.

"You already used that one!" Nick called out.

The mercenary commander stopped briefly, letting out an irritated growl before forcing open the door.

"Back at the temple? Remember? When we blew up a bunch of your guys?" Cackler stormed out, leaving the door hanging open as it slowly fell back into place. "Cacks? Remember when we blew up your guys? Scars? Buddy?"

The clicking of the door as it finally closed shut was the only response Nick received. "Guess it's a touchy subject." The fox shrugged and resumed planning his escape. As interesting as that had been, he needed to find a way out of here and fast, before Dante's inevitable arrival.

* * *

"Ugh, come on Wilde, don't let this be how you go out…" Nick chastised himself as he lay against the back wall of the cell, the window just above silently mocking him. The damn jeeps were _right _there, he could look out and see them. But the things may as well have been in Zootopia and it wouldn't make a difference, because he still hadn't figured out a way out of his cell. He was running out of time now, it wouldn't be much longer until Dante finally got here. And when he did…

"Come on, focus. Don't think about what Dante will do if you're still stuck in here when he arrives, that's a loser mindset right there. Think about what he'll do when he realizes you're gone, about the furious look he'll have on his stupid face." The image of the zebra furiously throwing his hat on the ground and stomping on it flashed through Nick's mind. He wasn't sure why he was imagining a hat, but the thought of the equine taking his frustration out on it couldn't help but lift the fox's mood. "Yeah...yeah that'd be sweet. Now to...just figure out how to actually make that happen…"

"Psssst."

"Hmm?" Nick's ears flicked at the sound and his eyes started darting around the room as he scanned for whatever that noise was. But there was nothing, just the same empty room he had been stuck in for who knows how long. "Crap, am I hearing voices already? That's probably not a good sign..."

"Psssst."

"Okay, now I _know _I didn't imagine that." He searched the room again, but as far as he could tell, it was still just him.

_Use your nose, idiot. _

Feeling slightly embarrassed at not trying that first, the fox shut his eyes and sniffed at the air, focusing on the various scents permeating the air. There were all the usual ones, the musty smell of long abandoned ruins, the pungency of cordite, probably some bored mercenaries passing the time with target practice if he had to guess. Pressing on, he picked out the earthy smell of the jungle, the rank stench of mammals who probably hadn't washed in days, if not weeks; mercenaries weren't exactly known for their hygiene. He could discern the smells of the mammals, the hares, the hyenas, even an elephant or two, some lions, various antelope, a bunny…

_Wait...bunny? _

He zeroed in on the scent, it wasn't like the others. It didn't have that Southern Savanna twang. It smelled like...violets? There was a hint of naivete and...obnoxious self-righteousness to it, it smelled like…

"Carrots?"

"Nick!" a familiar voice called out.

"Where are you?"

"Where do you think?"

Nick craned his head up to look at the jail cell window. "Right...dumb Fox."

Nick got up and stuck his head out the window to the sight of Judy's face just barely poking above the window ledge. It took a second for him to register that she shouldn't have been nearly tall enough to reach that ledge by herself.

"Did you get...taller or something?"

The rabbit's face scrunched up in confusion at the bizarre question. "What? No! I dragged a box over, obviously."

"Oh," Nick leaned forward to get a better look, noticing said box right underneath the rabbit. "Right…"

"Seriously, what is wrong with you?"

"Come on, Fluff, these Coastline assholes have been practically playing my head like the bongo, plus I'm going a little stir crazy in here. Cut me some slack!"

"Okay, okay, fair enough." Judy got on the tips of her toes and leaned in to get a better look at the cell. "I see you're getting nice and familiar with Coastline's fine accommodations," she said with a smug smirk.

"Ha ha ha, very funny, Carrots." Nick rolled his eyes.

"You know, you don't seem very appreciative of the 'sweet, innocent little bunny' who's come to save you," Judy teased in a mockingly sweet voice. The damn bunny was really determined to rub it in…

"The only reason I _need _rescuing in the first place is that I was keeping Cackler and his Coastline goons off of you," Nick snapped. "How the hell did you even find me, by the way? Cause unless you're secretly a tracker as well as an ex-cop, there's no way you would've been able to track me across the island to...wherever we are."

"It's some outpost a few miles out from the Nocturnal fortress. They're using it as a forward camp," Judy explained. "And also, I don't know about you, but an army of mercenaries isn't exactly hard to track, they tend to leave behind some rather obvious signs." The rabbit reached to her side and pulled out a radio that looked comically oversized in her paws. "Although that being said, I did have a little help…"

Judy held down and released the radio comm, a moment later there was a response. "What is it bunny? You find the idiot yet? Cause I'm kinda in the middle of something."

"Gramps, is that you?" Nick leaned forward through the window bars to try and make sure Finnick could hear him.

"Speak of the moron…" Finnick grumbled with a sigh. "Glad to know sticking my neck out wasn't a _complete _waste."

"Sticking your neck out?"

"I...needed a bit of a distraction in order to get inside," Judy muttered sheepishly.

"Wait...what kind of distraction?" Nick asked.

"Do you seriously want to waste our damn time having the bunny explain it to you? Or would you rather just shut up and roll with it before these Coastline assholes catch on," Finnick barked. "If I get shot over this because you wasted our time playing twenty questions, you can bet your ass I'll come back from hell itself to bite your face off!"

"Really appreciating the passion there, buddy," Nick smirked.

"When I get my paws on you, I swear I'm gonna-" Finnick sputtered before his transmission was cut short.

"Uhh...Gramps?" Nick asked nervously.

"Finn?" Judy asked, sounding equally nervous.

"Shit, I gotta go," Finnick cut back in. "I'll do what I can to keep them busy, so make it count bunny, and try to make sure the red moron doesn't screw it up."

"Thanks, Finn, we'll do our best. Just take care of yourself," Judy responded.

"I will, and unlike the kid, you can bet your cottontail that I actually mean it." There was a short burst of static as the radio went silent.

"That's pretty much as close as you'll get to a 'good luck' from him, by the way," Nick stated. "Speaking of…" he gripped the bar windows and gave a few tugs. "You have any idea how to get out of here because honestly, I am completely drawing a blank."

"Possibly…" the reporter climbed up, wrapping a paw around one of the bars and taking a closer look, her eyes narrowing as she took in the details of the bars and wall. "Brick stucco mortar mixed with limestone...and...something else...not sure what...Must be what's kept this building intact for so long."

"Some little tidbits you picked up from your career in adventure journalism, I'm guessing?" Nick speculated.

"You guessed right," Judy smiled. "As strong as this stuff is, even it has to be pretty weak after all these years." She tapped her paw against the cell bars. "Should just take a tug to get these bars loose."

"Please tell me you aren't planning to just tear the bars off through sheer bunny strength and force of will…"

"Wow, you really are off your game today. Of course I'm not trying that." Judy turned her gaze over to the nearby jeeps. "Although I think I might have something else that'll do the trick. I'll be right back, be sure not to go anywhere." She winked at the fox and dropped down.

"Huh? Hey, wait! Where are you going?" Nick called after the bunny, grabbing the bars of the window. "You sure you know what you're doing-"

"Get out of my way, you idiots!"

The muffled yelling caught Nick off guard, his tail swishing in alarm as he turned to look at the jail cell door. He could hear the muffled voices of several mammals arguing, but one was far louder than the others. Given the familiar sound of said voice, Nick ventured that it belonged to a certain zebra whose arrival he had been dreading.

"I don't care if nobody is allowed in, I'm going in there! You don't like it? Take it up with Cackler, now either get out of the way or open the godsdamn door!"

"Ah crap…" Nick sighed. He tried to prepare himself for what was to come but was slightly derailed when he found himself wondering if Dante would be wearing a hat.

_Godsdammit Wilde..._

"Buncha freaking idiots," the voice yelled followed by a loud crash as a hoofed kick sent the door flying open. Standing in the doorway was an agitated looking Dante. While he wasn't wearing a hat, he did still have the same grey shirt he was wearing the last time Nick had seen him. Or maybe he just kept a bunch of them, it was kind of hard to tell.

As soon as the zebra saw the fox, all the anger and agitation in his face seemed to melt away and his muzzle curled into a smile. Nick would almost call it pleasant, if not for the air of ruthlessness and malicious intent that always seemed to hang over the zebra. "Nick, old buddy, it really is great we get to catch up again so soon."

"Dante...you seem much more chipper than the last time we met," Nick responded, leaning against the wall to try and look casual. "I mean, apart from the yelling and kicking down the door."

"Well you know how it is, gotta lay down the law with these Coastline types or else they start to get ideas." Dante nodded at the battered door. "Besides, I've been looking through some of your recent findings here and I must say, I'm really liking what I see." He raised a hoof to reveal Sir Francis Wilde's journal.

Nick instinctively reached for his satchel, only to look down and realized it wasn't there. He let out an irritated sigh when he noticed it was attached to the zebra's belt.

_Guess I should've seen that coming. _

"You may be a backstabber and a thief, but I've gotta admit, you do good work." Dante smiled smugly as he flipped through the journal before clapping it shut with his hoof and shoving it back into the satchel. "You may just be worth the trouble after all."

"I don't suppose that means you're here to pay me for all the quality work I've done for you?" Nick asked sarcastically.

"You may be a lucky one, Nick, but you're not _that_ lucky," the zebra shrugged. "I'll be sure to take that off of your share of Coastline's bill, though. But I was hoping we could have a talk."

"Uh huh…already had one of those with Cackler," Nick narrowed his gaze at the prey mammal. "Still preferable to yours, though, I remember how your 'talks' tended to go."

"I'm sure you do, but hopefully, it won't have to come to that. I mean, just because we're so far from the confines of modern civilization, that doesn't mean we have to act uncivil ourselves, right?"

"Shooting down planes and sending armies of mercenaries after us is your idea of civil?"

"Civil? No. Necessary actions as a result of your disruption, though? Very much so. But now that you're here, I'm hoping we can get past all that." Dante pulled a crate in front of the cell and sat on top, leaning forward slightly as he looked Nick in the eyes. "Now then, I was hoping you could tell me about the rabbit."

"Rabbit?"

"Ms. Hopps? You know, that reporter you 'hustled' into helping you with your little scheme." Dante leaned in a bit further. "She has something I need, and I think you know what it is."

"I'm pretty sure I don't, 'Stripes.'"

"'Stripes,' how original..." the zebra deadpanned, narrowing his gaze. "I'm guessing Cackler already tried to grill you, so I'll get right to the point. I know about the key, I know you found it, and I'm told they didn't find it on you, and since Finnick wasn't at the ruins, that means that one Judith Laverne Hopps of Bunnyburrow has it."

"...you made up the Laverne part, didn't you?"

"Come on Nick, we may not see eye to eye on many things, but you know I always make sure to do my research." The striped mammal shook his head. "And as I'm sure you realize, I can't have her roaming around this island with such an important artifact, an artifact that we both need-"

"Oh, so it's _we_, now?" Nick quirked a brow skeptically.

"Yes, _we_, you really should be more willing to play ball here, Nick. Or do you need to be reminded of what usually happens to mammals that try to cross me?"

Violent flashbacks flooded Nick's mind of both his own personal experiences with Dante and some of the stories he'd heard. A boar prison guard Dante had practically turned into a pin-cushion, a ferret he stuffed in a chest and dropped into the ocean, the Ramson brothers...

"I remember they tend to wind up in very small boxes by the time you're done with them." Nick shuddered as he tried to shrug off the memories.

"Good, then you should know better than to try and screw around with me on this. It really is in both our interests for you to tell me where the rabbit is," Dante continued. "If nothing else, we both need that artifact if we hope to find whatever secrets lurk within Henosia's vaults, and a willing participant is easier to work with than a corpse."

"Free tip, Dante. The whole 'mutual interest' angle doesn't really work when you try to jam in casual threats." Nick smirked as he arched his back and stretched. "Either way, that's a no dice on the bunny. Even if I knew where she was, it wouldn't matter. I know all too well how you like to deal with your 'competition,' and frankly, as annoying as that bunny can be, I'd rather she didn't leave this island in a shoebox."

Dante let out a frustrated snort, he clearly wasn't expecting this much resistance from the fox. Most mammals the zebra dealt with were probably too afraid or dead to offer any real resistance. If nothing else, at least Nick could feel unique in that area.

"Come now, Nick, why risk so much to protect some bunny you barely even know?" the zebra questioned. "The bunny who led me to this island, by the way."

Nick's ears couldn't help but flick in surprise at the suggestion. But he quickly pushed the thought back down. To suggest that Judy had sold him out was absurd.

_What makes you so sure of that? You've barely known her a week, and she wasn't exactly thrilled when she found out what you got her mixed up in… _

Nick shook his head, shoving the doubts back. There's no way Judy was working with Dante. He wasn't exactly sure _how _he knew that, but it didn't matter, he just knew. No, Dante was fishing for answers, like Cackler before.

"Nice try, Stripes. You seriously think you can get me to turn on Judy with such a painfully obvious bluff? How stupid do you think I am?" He tilted his head, giving the zebra a bored look. "To suggest a pro like me would fall for such a basic tactic is just insulting."

"Well, you were stupid enough to partner up with a rookie and obvious liability, so you never know," Dante responded with a shrug.

The fox couldn't help but smile. He called it, the idiot was lying after all. Judy hadn't led Dante to the island.

"I wasn't lying, by the way, she did lead me to the island," Dante said.

_Wait, what? _

"I just neglected to mention she did it unintentionally."

"Unintentionally, what are you trying to-" Nick stopped as he recalled his last run in with Dante back at the temple, just before it got blown to hell. Judy had said something to the equine when they first met, something that he remembered being an extremely 'dumb bunny' move at the time, but hadn't had a chance to dwell on given all the chaos that followed shortly afterwards.

"'Animalia Explorer…'" Nick muttered. The words tasted bitter in his mouth. "Shit…"

"Remember that little slip, do you?" A dark grin crept across Dante's muzzle as he let out a small chuckle. Nick hated how smugly self-satisfied the zebra looked. "Wasn't that big of a leap to gather that anyone stupid enough to fire off their muzzle about who they worked for would also be dumb enough to pass such important information as the location of Henosia along to their higher ups."

Another memory, this time it was Judy on the phone at the motel.

_"...we're certain that's where Sir Francis Wilde was headed next." _

"The producer…"

"Mr. Dewson was his name, apparently it wasn't even that hard to pry the info from him." Dante continued, looking down at his own hoof in a disinterested fashion. If he hadn't still been reeling from the revelation, Nick probably would have made a jab at the zebra about needing to pick an attitude and stick with it. "From what I was told, he was a real softie for a moose."

Nick _really _hoped Dante was lying, Judy wouldn't take it well if her actions got an innocent hurt, even if that innocent was her asshole boss who screamed at her for half the call. But deep down, he knew it was true. This was the same guy who had bugged all of his gear and hired a private army to hunt them down, of course he'd track down Judy's boss and squeeze him for info while they were wasting time laying low. "So...did you kill him?"

Dante glared at the treasure hunter. "You always loved to brag about what a sly little fox you are, I'll go ahead and let you figure that one out."

Nick fought the urge to let his ears and tail go limp as his stomach tied in knots. He knew Dante well enough, that zebra wasn't one to leave loose ends.

_Yeah, that moose is dead… _

"We both know the risks of the job, Nick," Dante continued. "Dewson didn't, and I'm guessing Hopps doesn't either. Do the smart thing and work with me on this, just tell me where they are so we can end this feud. Nobody else needs to get hurt because of your stubborn ego."

"Funny," Nick scoffed. "I don't remember you ever caring about whether or not others got hurt."

"I do when it affects my bottom line," Dante responded. "And even after all the trouble you've caused, I'd still rather save myself the headache of having to waste time trying to hunt down the rest of your crew if I can just get your cooperation instead."

It sounded like Dante was offering a deal, a tempting option given his current situation, or at least, on paper it was. But given the zebra's reputation and the fox's own history with him, he knew better. "Sorry, Stripes, but whatever you're peddling, I won't be buying." Nick stood upright and folded his arms across his chest. "Not that I don't appreciate the offer, but I just have a personal rule of not accepting deals from sketchy assholes with a history of backstabbing. Given the choice, I'd prefer a bullet to the face over a muzzle and a knife to the back, at least I'd see that coming."

The zebra shook his head and let out an irritated sigh. "Why are you being so difficult, Nick? You're taking this way too personal. What's this really about?" The prey mammal leaned in closer, studying the vulpine's face. Nick tried to stay impassive, making himself as unreadable as possible, but something must've slipped because the zebras face lit up with a sudden realization. "Wait a minute...muzzle? Don't tell me you're still bitter about that thing with the Rangers."

The mention of the Rangers brought back another rush of unpleasant memories. That cursed night when he tried to join the Rangers all those years ago back in Zootopia. It was supposed to be his first step into a bold new world, but instead, it turned into a nightmare. He remembered his first time wearing the uniform, his meeting the rest of the troop, the low paw he gave to Dante when he first entered the basement, even his reciting of the oath. It was all going so well, he worked his tail off to get there and it was all going to pay off now that he'd managed to get his foot in the door and was in a place that would appreciate and encourage his talents. But then that asshole muskrat Alex uttered those five godsdamn words that brought everything crashing down.

_"Even though you're a fox?" _

"Bitter? Who's bitter?" Nick snapped at Dante. "I mean sure, all you and your buddies did was take a young hopeful fox kid dreaming of a better life, kick the shit out of him and strap a muzzle on his face, destroying his innocence and faith in the world in the process. But, I mean, hey, who'd still be bitter about something like that, right?" Nick couldn't help but let out a bitterly resentful laugh, so much for 'never let them see that they get to you.'

"Struck a nerve, did I?" Dante quirked his brow curiously. "You're seriously going to tell me you jeopardized our work together because of a grudge over some juvenile bullying? I thought you were smarter than that. It's not like this line of work doesn't entail far worse all the time."

"Yeah, well…" Nick trailed off, looking down at the floor as he leaned back on the stone wall. It was a lot less simple than that, but really, no good would come from even trying to explain that to a psycho like Dante. "What can I say? You never forget your first…"

The zebra let out a short sigh. "I'll admit, that incident was rather...short-sighted of me."

"Say what now?" Nick looked up at Dante, his head tilting slightly in confusion.

"Don't get me wrong, I was just a young, stupid colt at the time, I didn't know better."

Nick was even more confused now, and definitely suspicious. It wasn't like Dante to have regrets over anything. If he regretted any decision he ever made, it would only be because he missed out on an even bigger opportunity.

"It was the herd mentality combined with my own naivete," Dante continued. "Getting on the good side of a group of well off prey mammals made more sense than some random fox."

"The hell is _that _supposed to mean?" Nick questioned, still not entirely sure where Dante was going with this.

"Come on, Nick, you were just some nobody fox. The son of a washed up tailor who ditched his own family and left behind a single mother who was barely making ends meet. I mean who the hell thought somebody like you would ever amount to anything?"

_Okay, guess it's the missed opportunity angle then._

"But Alex, Marcus, Reggie, Brian? They were the well off sons of a lawyer, two businessmammals, and a councilmamal respectively, they were my ticket up. I wasn't from a family of note, but I was prey, like them. And if slapping around some fox who didn't know his place was what it was going to take to get in with them, then it seemed like the right move."

"Is there a point to this?" Nick questioned, not appreciating Dante's implied insults. "Because all I'm getting is that you've been willing to screw others over to get ahead since we were twelve."

"Well, it certainly worked out well for me in the beginning," Dante chuckled. "It was easy enough to talk them into putting forward the money to set up a salvaging company and make me an equal partner, something you and I wouldn't have been able to do on our own, that's for sure. Still, after that point, they just became a burden. None of them proved to be as crafty or as useful as you would have been."

"Uhhh…" Nick blinked. "Thanks...I guess?"

"The truth is, mammals haven't moved past their primitive ways nearly as much as we'd like to think," Dante continued. "The others had the money, sure, but they didn't have the drive needed for this line of work. They were still stuck in that idiotic herd mentality that rules so many prey even to this day. The reluctance to take bold risks and just stick together in numbingly benign safety. The same mentality that blinded me to what could've been gained if I had sided with you over them all those years ago."

"I'm so sorry my muzzling ended up being such a terrible inconvenience for you," Nick scoffed, rolling his eyes at the zebra. "Gods know what great potential you missed out on because you decided to be a prejudiced asshole and side with the rich kids."

"I managed to break away from that mindset, found that 'predatorial instinct', you might call it, to seize what I desired and make it my own. It was really quite liberating," Dante continued, clearly too far up his own ass to notice or even respond to the fox's insult. "But the others...well, all the money in the world couldn't help a bunch of thick-headed and weak-willed fools like them. And you know what the treasure hunting game does to the weak and the stupid."

"Gets you stabbed in the back by a ruthless psychopath pretending to be your friend just so he can steal all your money?" Nick asked rhetorically.

Dante stared silently at Nick a moment, there was a slight twitch in his eye. The fox was expecting the zebra to have a psychotic breakdown or something, which was why he was very surprised and nervous when Dante burst out laughing.

_Really hoping this doesn't end with him bashing me in the head like last time… _

"There it is, that classic Wilde wit," Dante wiped away at the tears in his eyes as his laughter started to die down. "I think we both knew the others were never going to last, they just didn't have the drive for it and it was getting in the way of my work." He fixed the fox with a much less amused glare as he continued, "And you know the kind of fate that tends to befall those who get in my way…"

_And we're back to threats again, really hoping this asshole'll just hurry up and get to the point alrea- _

Nick's train of thought was interrupted when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Glancing over, he saw a small grey paw poking over the window and trying to lock a winch hook into place around one of the window cell bars. Whatever Judy's escape plan was, it looked like she was about to make her move.

"You ever think about wearing a hat?" Nick asked, blurting out the first thought that crossed his mind in an attempt to keep Dante from noticing.

Dante looked at Nick with a completely befuddled expression, as if he had just done something bizarre like...well...randomly ask about wearing a hat. "What?"

"Nothing, never mind," Nick mumbled, shaking his head and trying to focus. "Listen, the fact that we're still talking despite me rejecting your initial offer means you're building up to some sort of ultimatum or final offer, so how about we just move past all of that and get to the point, that sound good?"

"Hmm," the zebra rubbed his muzzle, gazing intently at the fox. Nick seriously hoped his poker face was up to snuff. If Dante figured out that Nick was just humouring him, it probably wouldn't take him long to realize what was going on, and then he and Judy would be as good as dead.

"Alright, Nick," Dante finally said, seemingly satisfied. "Despite all the trouble you've caused me, you did end up delivering what I wanted and then some. You led me to the temple, and you found the island. If nothing else, you actually get results, which is more than can be said of my former business partners."

"Classy way to speak of those childhood friends of yours that you totally didn't murder," Nick mocked.

"The benefits you've brought on this job greatly outweigh the troubles your stubbornness has caused me whereas my former associates were just dead weight from the start," Dante tried to justify. "Metaphorically at first, and then, quite literally," he chuckled. Nick wasn't sure whether or not the zebra realized how much of a psycho he came off as at this moment. "Which is why, as furious as this is going to make Cackler, I'm offering you the chance to end this petty dispute and work with me again, as a partner this time."

"Partners…" Nick arched a brow skeptically at Dante. "You're serious?"

"You've always been resourceful, always been able to accomplish much with only a little. Just imagine what we could do together if you had my backing? When an option like that is on the table, killing you just seems like a profound waste." The zebra held out his hoof in offering. "You just tell me where your friends are so I can get that key, and then we can put this all behind us and move onto a more profitable relationship. Given the spot you're in, I'd say this deal is more than generous. So what do you say?"

"Partners…" Nick mumbled, the word feeling so foreign in his mouth. The thought of even pretending to ever work with that striped asshole again was almost enough to raise his hackles. Besides, he knew there was no way Dante would let Judy and Finnick live, the selfish bastard hated sharing. Probably would just kill him too once he outlived his usefulness, being friends certainly didn't save his other ranger buddies. "Well, Dante, I don't really know what else to say besides…"

_*VROOM!*_

The roar of an engine and the cracking of stone cut the conversation short as a large portion of the back cell wall was torn away, collapsing into a pile of loose bricks on the courtyard floor. Nick and Dante both spun around in alarm, a small cloud of dust obscuring their view before fading away to reveal a jeep, it's engine rumbling as the winch at its front retracted. Sitting in the driver seat and peering over the windshield was a very stubborn bunny reporter.

"Well?" Judy shouted, looking at Nick expectantly. "Come on!"

Snapped out of his stunned shock, Nick turned around and grabbed the dumbstruck zebra's extended hoof, pulling hard and slamming his head into the jail bars. Dante bounced back from the hit, dazed as Nick pulled him into the bars a second and then a third time before he finally fell to the ground.

"That's gonna have to be a hard pass, Stripes," Nick finally responded as he reached through the bars toward the zebra's crumpled form.

"Uhh...Nick? What are you doing? Time's a bit of a factor here!" Judy yelled from the jeep.

"Just gimme a second, Fluff," Nick shouted as he pulled his satchel free from the groaning zebra's belt. He quickly checked to make sure everything was there and then hopped through the gap in the wall, already hearing the sounds of approaching footsteps.

"You got a death wish or something?" Judy asked as Nick ran to the jeep.

"No, just would rather not let that asshole keep my stuff," Nick responded as he climbed into the back and got on the machine gun turret. "Nice move by the way."

"Thanks, just hope it doesn't get us both killed," Judy responded as she shifted the jeep into reverse.

"Get that cell open!" Dante could be heard yelling. Nick saw him back on his feet and trying to force the cell door open alongside Tanger while Baju fumbled with a set of keys.

"Think we might've overstayed our welcome a bit," Nick observed.

"That's a heck of an understatement." Judy swung the jeep around and pressed hard on the gas, sending it speeding towards the archway.

"After them, you idiots!" Dante shouted, running through the hole in the cell with a pistol drawn. Tanger and Baju followed behind as all three of them opened fire on the fleeing jeep, but the fox and bunny were already too far away, the bullets flying wide as the jeep disappeared through the archway and out of the courtyard.

"Go, go, punch it, Carrots!" Nick shouted as they tore through a narrow passage and out of the outpost onto an old road leading into the jungle, leaving a wake of confused and surprised mercenaries. "Do you know where you're going?"

"Uhh...no," Judy shook her head.

"Great…" Nick mumbled. Looking back, he could already see mercenaries around the outpost perimeter either rushing after them or scrambling for nearby jeeps. "Looks like we're gonna have a lot of company, soon ."

"What else is new?" Judy pressed hard on the accelerator and the jeep surged ahead. Nick dug his claws hard into the turret to keep from getting flung off as they sped down the road.

"Not much," Nick said with a sigh as the jeep drove further into the enveloping jungle. It looked like Cackler would be getting that half-cocked escape attempt after all.


	16. Something to Prove

_Author Note: And with this update, the story's finally all caught up with the opening scene from the very start, it sure has been a crazy ride, hasn't it? Anyways, we've still got some way to go yet, so enjoy!_

* * *

_"Carrots! They're gaining on us!"_

A cold numbness swept over Nick as he sunk ever further into the murky depths. Darkness encroached at the edge of his vision until everything went black and the water began filling his lungs.

_"Nick! What's going on back there?" _

A grey paw grasped at his arm and he felt a rising sensation. Brief flashes of light pierced through the darkness as the surface above rapidly approached.

_"Cliff! Cliff! Cliff!" _

More flashes, this time of the sky and clouds above. Water splashed around him as he felt something pulling him along the surface. He wasn't sure, but he thought he heard a voice urging him to hold on.

_"Uh Nick, we've got a problem, more up ahead!" _

A solid surface, images of jungle and rocks around him, and a grey bunny looming over him, a sense of desperation emanating from her. Was he dreaming? Was he dead? He couldn't tell.

"Don't die on me, Nick, please…"

_"Carrots...no! Best case scenario, we break out damn necks from a drop like that!" _

Something pressed down on his chest as a pair of purple eyes fixed on him, a mix of desperation and furious determination radiating from them.

"Come on, I know you're a fighter, I've seen it! Don't you dare give up!"

_"Not like our other options are any better!" _

A pair of fists started slamming into his chest and a scream of desperate fury echoed in his head.

"Fight you dumb fox! Fight!"

_"Ohhhh craaaaaaaaaaaaaap!" _

One final blow connected against Nick's chest and the entire area lit up as his eyes opened and he felt the water being forced from his lungs in a fit of furious coughing. As he gasped for air, he saw a grey furred bunny staring at him, her eyes wide with shock and relief.

"Nick!"

"Jud-" he started only to cough up some more water right into the rabbit's face, although she didn't seem to notice. "I mean, Carrots?"

Judy just silently stared at him before suddenly leaping forward, wrapping her arms around the treasure hunter and squeezing him in a tight hug.

"Easy there, I'm glad to see you too," Nick wheezed as he craned his head down towards the ecstatic bunny and patted her on the back. "You mind letting go? Just started breathing again and I could _really_ use some of that air you're squeezing out of me..."

"Oh, sorry about that." She released the fox and gave him some room to sit up, looking mildly embarrassed. "It's just I was so worried, I mean for pete's sake, you almost drowned back there. I don't think I'd ever have forgiven myself if you'd died."

"Don't worry about it, hardly my first brush with death," Nick assured with a wave of his paw. "Isn't a real treasure hunt if you don't cheat death at least once."

"Still doing a poor job of selling me on the treasure hunting life, but I'm glad you're okay." Judy smiled, putting the fox at ease until her fist suddenly slammed him hard in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For making me worry!" Judy responded, an annoyed look now on her face.

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I preferred the squeezing," Nick whined as he rubbed his arm. That was definitely going to bruise, the bunny had a mean right hook.

"So what happened back there? You were the one who told me to keep straight when falling into the water, and yet I'm the one who ended up having to pull you out!"

"Uhh, I don't know if you noticed, but that drop was WAY bigger than that one we did the first time around," Nick snapped back. "Besides, how could I when I was still stuck in the damn jeep when we hit the water?"

"Oh, right…" Judy's ears drooped as a guilty look crossed her face. "Sorry for nearly getting you killed…"

"It's alright, Carrots, really, you were the one who sprung me out in the first place. Besides, any crash we can walk away from and all that," Nick assured the rabbit. "Gotta say, though, you seem pretty worried about the well-being of a, what was it you said once? Oh ya, 'two-bit grave robber.'"

"Yeah, well…" Judy looked lowed her gaze slightly, a small smile forming. "I guess you're kinda growing on me…"

"Yeah, that's usually how it goes with the mammals I meet," Nick said with a smirk. "Provided I don't give them a reason to kill me first…"

"I'm assuming you tend to give most of them a reason," Judy said.

"Yeah…" Looking around, Nick saw that they were on the shore of a large lake. Craning his neck back, he could see the cliffside they had fallen from towering far above. It really was nothing short of a miracle that they had survived that drop, few mammals would have. Being stuck in that jeep when it hit the water might've actually been a blessing in disguise. A blessing that nearly killed him, but hey, as long as it worked. Turning inland, he saw that Judy had dragged them toward a small cove with a path leading upwards into the surrounding jungle. Looking back at the rabbit, he noticed something off about her appearance.

"What happened to your camera?"

"Hmm?" Judy seemed caught off guard by the question.

"You know, your camera?" Nick asked again. "That thing you've been carrying around the whole trip, nearly beat me to death with it once, what'll make or break your 'story of the century,' ringing any bells here?"

"Oh...yeah...that," Judy started, glancing away. "It's probably at the bottom of the lake by now."

"Wait, you lost it?"

"No, I dropped it," the reporter clarified. "Too much extra weight. It was either keep the camera or let you drown, and...well…" Judy stopped, her ears drooping as she nervously rubbed at her paws.

Nick was speechless, that camera had all of her work on it, her entire career was riding on that footage. That story would've been her ticket to any job she'd ever want, probably even any life she wanted. To hear that she'd thrown that all away to save him...it wasn't the type of thing he really knew how to respond to.

"Judy...I…"

"It's fine, really," the rabbit cut in. "There's no story that ever would've been worth letting you die for." She let out a half-hearted chuckle, "Besides, it probably broke when we hit the water anyways."

"Yeah, probably," Nick chuckled nervously. The two of them may have just cheated death, but thinking back to his talk with Dante in the cell, he remembered there was someone else who hadn't been quite so lucky. "Listen...there's...something you need to know about your boss..."

"That he's probably dead?" Judy interrupted, her voice taking on a more sullen tone as she gestured at her drooping ears. "I heard what Dante said..."

Nick sighed, he'd been hoping to broach the topic softly, but that opportunity had just been smashed to the bottom of the lake along with the jeep and camera. "Listen...what happened to Dewson wasn't your fault, I-"

"Stop," the doe raised a paw to silence him. "I know what you're going to say, that I'm blameless and it was Dante's doing," she continued. "But that doesn't change the fact they found him because of me." Her eyes started to mist up as she blinked back the tears, wiping at them with a paw as she sniffed. "I'm not going to run from that mistake, I'll come to terms with it in time, but not now, not while we've got more pressing matters to worry about." With the tears gone, she smiled sadly. "Besides, maybe Dante was just bluffing and he's alright."

"Yeah, maybe…" Nick smiled, he knew that probably wasn't the case, hell, the rabbit probably knew as well, but he wouldn't say that. She was right, now wasn't the time to let that sort of thing burden her. The best he could do was try to keep her focused on what lay ahead. "I think I know _just_ what you need right now." The fox quickly leaped to his feet. "If Dante and his Coastline pals haven't found Henosia by now, then they certainly will soon." The fox started heading up the path into the jungle, waving at the rabbit to follow. "Come on, I was getting my bearings after we first arrived when I think I saw where it was up in the mountains! If we link back up with Gramps, we might be able to get there before Dante does."

"Woah, woah, woah, hold up, Slick," Judy called out as she ran to catch up with the fox. "What did you just say?"

Nick screeched to a stop, turning to face the rabbit. "What do you think? We came all the way out here looking for Henosia, so we're damn well going to go find it."

Judy's eyes went wide as she stared at Nick in disbelief. "Seriously?! After everything we just went through? The crashes, the chases, the chases leading to more crashes! I've lost count of how many times we've almost died! In fact, you _would _be dead right now if I hadn't pulled you out of the water!"

"Okay, so things haven't exactly gone to plan..." Nick conceded with a frown, this wasn't the reaction he was expecting. "But we've managed to pull through. We got the key, and now we can find the city. Besides, this is the only chance we'll have to salvage your story. After everything we've been through, are you seriously considering just walking away with nothing?"

"We'd still have our lives! I'd say that's worth more than a story or some treasure," Judy insisted. " I mean, come on, we're going up against an army here, Nick! And guess what? It hasn't been going well."

"Bit late to start having doubts isn't it, Fluff? I mean, did you give up when they said you couldn't be a cop? No, you dug in your heels and came out top of your class! Did you give up when they fired you? No, you became an adventure journalist and travelled the globe instead," Nick argued. "This is no different, things may be tough, but we just gotta dig in and push on until we've got what's ours."

"This is _completely_ different," Judy countered, shaking her head. "Failing the academy was something I could recover from. Getting fired from the force was something I _did _recover from. A bullet to the head, though? You can't come back from that. What you're suggesting is suicide."

Nick opened his mouth to argue but nothing came out. He couldn't walk away now, he just couldn't, but no response came to mind that he thought Judy would find plausible. The reporter simply didn't understand, she _couldn't _understand.

"Look…" Judy said calmly, breaking the silence. "Let's just find Finn, grab one of Coastline's boats, and get off this island. We tried our best and we put up one heck of a fight, but we're in over our heads now. We were trapped when we first got here, but now we have an opportunity to escape while Dante is focused on the city, so let's cut our losses and take it." The rabbit gently reached up and placed a paw on the treasure hunter's arm. "I know you were set on finding this place, and even I found that dream tempting, but we can't afford to be swept up in this fantasy anymore. This isn't worth dying over."

Part of him knew that Judy's argument was reasonable, that she was just trying to help. But there were just too many things setting him off at the moment to even listen. The thought of just running away...to let that striped asshole beat him again...it made his blood boil and his hackles rise. And then hearing the rabbit just brush off his life's work as a fantasy? A dream? It was too much for the fox to take. He barely even registered when he let loose a growl and brushed off Judy's paw, looking down at her as she stepped back with a startled and hurt look on her face.

"Fantasy?" Nick growled, stepping towards the doe. "Listen closely, rabbit...I'm _going_ to find that city, even if I have to scour every inch of this godsdamn island." He loomed over Judy now, her head craning up to meet his glare and nose twitching nervously. "And if you've lost your nerve or are...confused about what you're doing here, then you can just go ahead and prove to everyone that you _are_ just some dumb helpless bunny and run on back to your carrot farm." He emphasised the final point with a shove to the bunny's shoulder before turning and around marching into the jungle.

"Nick," Judy called out, running after the fox. "Why are you doing this? What do you seriously hope to accomplish? You'll die if you stay here, you know that!"

Nick stopped, momentarily considering the rabbit's point. The odds were against him, maybe...No, he couldn't back down, not now, not after everything he'd worked towards. This was too important. He shook his head and kept going.

"Just come with me! We'll find Finnick and get off this island," Judy pleaded. "You know you don't need to throw your life away over this! There will be other treasure…"

"I don't care about the treasure!" Nick yelled. He turned around, just as stunned as Judy once he'd realized what he'd shouted. "It's not about the treasure...it never was…"

"Then what _is _it about?" Judy asked. "Back with Dante, you said something about a muzzling, is that it?"

Nick didn't want to say anything. It was a painful memory, one that always seemed to weigh him down whenever he thought about it. What could be gained from telling Judy when she probably wouldn't even get it? But even as he thought that, he remembered how understanding and sympathetic she had been in the past, he just couldn't decide if telling her was worth the risk. "Part of it…" Nick blurted out, his mouth apparently making the choice for him. "It's difficult to explain…"

"Then try," Judy encouraged, placing her paw over Nick's. "Tell me what happened. Help me understand."

Nick looked into the bunny's eyes. In them, he could see concern and a genuine desire to help, the look of a mammal who wanted to help people in any way she could. He had always been pretty guarded about his past, especially when it came to that kind of emotional baggage, but despite only knowing the bunny for a week, he somehow knew that she could be trusted with the truth, that she would do everything in her power to help.

The fox took a deep breath and sighed. "Alright…"

* * *

_**Zootopia**_

_**Twenty years earlier**_

Nick stood at the table, looking down at the unassuming urn. It was nothing impressive, a simple white with a bronze band encircling the neck, such a small, simple thing. Even now, it was still hard to believe that this was all that was left of her.

"Sorry I couldn't get you anything nicer, mom," the young todd whispered. After everything he'd managed to scrounge up, it was all he could really afford. Between his deadbeat of a father running out on them and his mom's sickness, it was surprising that he'd even managed to scrape together this much.

It all seemed to be going so well, she had been getting better and the two of them were happy. Poor, sure, she was a single mom and the sickness hadn't done her any favours, but still, the fact that she had sprung for the uniform and helped get him into the Junior Rangers showed just how determined she was to make their shared dream a reality.

She had always loved history and archaeology, always telling Nick that if mammals were to truly understand themselves, then they needed to understand where they came from. She shared everything she knew with him, and he loved taking it all in, sharing her passion for delving into the stories of the mammals and civilizations of old. Fate had denied her the chance to pursue that kind of life, being both a fox and a single mother, but maybe he could have that chance. The Junior Rangers were to be the first step on that long road.

Nick still remembered that day, looking at himself in the mirror, wearing his brand new uniform with pride as his mom hugged him. Back then, despite all the hardships, it felt like things were going to be alright, that he and mom just might make it after all.

And then the muzzling happened…

By the time he'd realized what had happened, he was back out on the street, furiously yanking off the muzzle and weeping. He felt like such a fool, to think a fox would ever be accepted by the likes of them. He'd not only failed himself but his mom as well. That dream was dead once again, just like it had been for her.

"Move it along, fox," the funeral director barked, snapping the young fox out of his thoughts. The deer was glaring at him suspiciously from across the room. Figures he couldn't even claim his own mom's ashes without being treated like some crook.

"I just need a minute with her, sir," Nick answered back. Foxes had never exactly been treated well in Zootopia, but this was just ridiculous.

"Then have it somewhere else, I got better things to do than look after you," the deer grumbled, his arms impatiently folded over his chest.

"More like make sure I don't steal anything, you mean," Nick mumbled to himself as he grabbed the urn in his paws and carried it out of the building. He knew there was no point in arguing, nobody'd care about some orphaned fox, least of all this guy.

As he stepped out into the rain, just staring down at the urn, he didn't even hear the door slam shut behind him. This was it, this was all he had left now, the clothes on his back, some spare cash, and his mom's ashes, what a way for it all to end…

It had been two months to the day since the muzzling. Nick had done his best to keep the truth about what happened to himself, but there was no hiding it in the end. He tried to put on a strong face, but his mom knew him too well. It wasn't the kind of pain he could hide from his own mother, no matter how hard he tried. She merely had to look at him to sense his pain and then she knew, just as with her before, a cruel and uncaring world had struck down her own son and shattered his dreams.

Things only snowballed from there, it didn't take long for the sickness to return, the heartbreak was just too much for her. Nick stayed at her side as she struggled to hold on, but the harsh realities of her life had finally worn her down until she slipped away into nothingness. All that was left of the vixen who had been everything to Nick, the only support he'd ever had, now lay in the urn he was carrying.

"I guess this city's taught us some important lessons, hasn't it?" Nick whispered. He tried to remain composed, even though nobody was watching. He damn well wasn't going to show that this city had gotten to him. "We never had a chance, not when all they'll ever see is some conniving fox…"

And that was it, the dream was dead, and the Wilde legacy with it. His mother was gone, he'd waste away in some orphanage until they kicked him out and he'd spend the rest of his life hustling pawpsicles or something and living under a bridge. Sir Francis Wilde must've been rolling in his grave, to know that this was how his lineage would end, reduced to some nobody todd and his dead mom, nothing to show for trying to rekindle their family legacy…

The thought made him sick, he thought he'd accepted his fate, and if he had just failed himself, or even the Wilde line, then maybe it'd be okay. But the thought of failing his mom as well…That all her struggling and fighting so that he could have a better future would be for nothing...

"No…" He wouldn't let it end like this, Sir Francis Wilde wouldn't have given up, and neither would he. Even with all the heartbreak and defeat, his mom still dug in and fought to the end. What kind of insult would it be to her and the Wilde legacy if he just gave up now? A Wilde had once shown the world what a fox could do, and he'd do the same even if it killed him. Although, he wouldn't be able to do that if he was wasting away in some orphanage…

Nick looked down the street leading towards his old home, it probably wouldn't be long before somebody would be sent there to pick him up and ship him off to an orphanage. He then looked the other way, there was a bus depot just on the edge of the Rainforest District, one that would take him far away from Zootopia, if he wanted…

The fox didn't even have to think about it really. Striking out on his own would've been risky, possibly even dangerous, but it's what a Wilde would do. And when the alternative was subjecting himself to a city that had done nothing but stamp on his dreams and beat him down just for being a fox, it wasn't really a choice at all.

"Don't worry, mom, our legacy won't die here, not as long as I have something to say about it," Nick said aloud. "Can't stay here though, a fox will never get a chance to make a name for themselves, not in Zootopia. But maybe if we went somewhere else..." He started walking down the street towards the Rainforest District. "Guess we'll just have to do this the hard way."

* * *

"Oh, Nick…"

"I found a good spot to keep mom, and then I just moved from place to place, working to make ends meet," Nick explained as he stared out at the lake. "Picking pockets, random jobs, stuff like that. Wanted to make mom proud and become an explorer of history...an adventurer...too bad I just ended up a thief."

"And what about Finn?"

"Crossed paths with him a couple years later," Nick continued. "Long story, but more or less, he had an eye for talent and we hit it off, been stuck together ever since. He may be a grumpy old bastard, but he's a good teacher, and loyal as hell. I'm not going to say I wouldn't have made it without him, but he certainly made it easier, and I wouldn't want to even imagine what things would've been like without him."

"He really means a lot to you, doesn't he?"

"Don't ever tell him that, he'd never let me live it down," Nick chuckled. "Anyways, in-between jobs with Finn, I looked into Sir Francis Wilde whenever I had the chance. Wanted to get a better idea of where I came from, the legacy I was working my tail off to honour. Even managed to dig up some of my mom's old research she'd kept hidden away, hints at a final voyage that never made it into the history books."

"The same expedition that led us to Henosia," Judy speculated. "Is that how you ended up crossing paths with Dante again?"

"You sly bunny, you don't miss a beat do you?" Nick let out a small smile. "Managed to convince Finn to go in with me on it and we put out some feelers. Heard about a mammal who had managed to get their hooves on a whole treasure trove of documents concerning one Sir Francis Wilde, and I'm sure you can already guess who said mammal is."

"Dante…"

"Bingo," Nick nodded. "He had the records, but he didn't have a way to make any sense of them. Not without this little baby." He gripped the signet ring tied around his neck, a small part of his legacy, but a vital one to be sure. "He took Finn and me on as 'experts' and we wound up working under that psycho for over a year." The fox let out a sad laugh. "It's almost funny, I struck out on my own after Dante and his pals tried to keep me down because I wanted to make a name for myself. And yet, I still ended up under that bastard's hoof anyways. Stuck helping him as he worked to get rich off of my legacy. What a joke."

"So...what, you were hoping to double cross him and take whatever riches Wilde's expedition had found for yourself?"

The treasure hunter shook his head, "I told you, it was never about the treasure, that was just a nice bonus. I couldn't let Dante win again...not this time. Henosia is Sir Francis Wilde's legacy, _my _legacy, and I won't let him take the glory. That's why I can't turn and run, I have to do this, to show him that I'm better than him. I'll make that smug asshole see I'm more than some conniving fox who could only ever hope to be his damned underling."

Nick kept staring out at the lake, refusing to look at the bunny. The truth was, he was freaking out and didn't want her to see. He'd never told this stuff to anybody, hell, even Finn only knew parts of it. And yet somehow, this bunny that he barely even knew managed to get him to open up more than anyone else. How? How the hell did she pull that off? What was so special about this reporter?

"I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you, Nick. I can't even begin to imagine how rough of a life you've lived," Judy said, interrupting the fox's thoughts. He felt a paw pulling at his side and guiding his gaze back towards her. "But is this what your mom really would have wanted? Jumping around old ruins and risking your life just to show up mammals like Dante?"

Nick tried to look away again, unable to answer. He had spent so long fixated on this goal, on doing his mom proud and living up to the Wilde legacy. He'd never really considered any other option.

"Hey, look at me," the bunny urged, guiding his gaze back towards her after some brief resistance. "Your mom loved you, didn't she? Well, then she'd want you to be happy, not to throw your life away for the sake of pride. You've got nothing to prove, you have mammals who care about you, like Finn...and me."

"I don't know…" Nick answered, still struggling with the idea of leaving it all behind. "I've been at this for so long, I don't know what else I'd even be able to do."

"Then let's find out," Judy responded, taking Nick's paw in hers. "I'm not a cop anymore, but I've made it work, I'm sure you can too." She nodded at the fox, giving him a warm smile, "Let's just find Finnick. Dante can have the stupid treasure, the three of us will find our own way. That's what your mom would've really wanted, right?"

The tortured look on Nick's face reflected the struggle he was feeling. To just abandon this all and leave, to let Dante win, it seemed like madness. But the more he thought about the bunny's point, the more he realized the truth. He had been so obsessed with this legacy that he forgot all about why he had been doing this in the first place. His mom had sacrificed so much for him so he could find his own path and have a life worth living. To let this obsession consume him like this...it wasn't what she would've wanted at all.

The fox tilted his head back and stared at the sky, letting out a long sigh. The peaceful blue and white helped to calm him some, not enough to change the fact that he still hated what was about to happen, but at least it'd help soften the blow. "Fine…" he quietly mumbled.

"What was that?" Judy asked, her ears perking up.

"I said fine," Nick half growled as he released Judy's paw and started walking towards the jungle. "You win! We'll go find Finn and get ourselves a stupid boat…" He didn't get far before he felt something slam into him from behind and wrap around him.

"Thank you, Nick." He heard Judy mumble, looking down and seeing that she had wrapped her arms around him in a surprisingly warm hug. "You're making the right choice."

"I know," he sighed, reluctantly turning around to return the hug. "Still doesn't change the fact this feels like a kick to the balls."

"I'm sure you'll get over it."

* * *

"So, Fluff, since you're so set on getting us off this island, do you have an actual plan for doing that when this place is crawling with Coastline types?"

"Of course I do," Judy responded as she led the fox down the jungle path. "Dante and the rest will be heading straight for Henosia once they've found it, right? That means the landing beach will be lightly guarded at best. I say we just grab one of their jeeps, get Finn, and then we can get to the shore and hightail it out of here on one of their boats, nice and easy."

"Yeah, real easy..." Nick rolled his eyes. "Except for the part where we have to just stumble onto a patrol with a jeep in all of this jungle, a patrol that's probably on high alert, mind you, given that stunt we pulled earlier, and then make off with said jeep without anybody noticing."

"Well, sure, it sounds pretty ridiculous when you say it like that." Judy shrugged as she disappeared through the brush at the edge of the path. "But I've got a feeling we'll figure things out," she said, suddenly sounding very self-satisfied.

"Okay, seriously, that's _my _line you're using right there," Nick shot back as he went after her. "And it's going to take more than a can do attitude to find a jeep way out in the middle of no...where…" The fox trailed off as he pushed through the vegetation, finding the rabbit standing in the long grass at the top of a ridge overlooking a jungle clearing. Down below he could see the remnants of a road leading towards the river that lead into the mountains. Right on the side of the path were two unoccupied Coastline jeeps.

"You've gotta be kidding me…"

"You really need to have more faith in me, Slick," Judy smirked.

"Oh please, that was pure luck," Nick scoffed.

"Yeah, well at this point, I'm perfectly willing to go with luck if it gets us out of here," Judy responded as she surveyed the area. "Not seeing anyone, I say we grab a jeep and go." She began moving to the ridge's edge.

"Woah, woah, hold on a second," Nick cautioned, firmly placing a paw on the bunny's arm. "Empty jeeps mean mercs somewhere nearby, do you really want to go down there only for them to show up and catch us out in the open with our tails in the wind?"

"You got a better idea?" Judy countered. "Because a jeep is the only way we're getting to that beach before Dante can-"

"Seriously? You're telling me they finally found it?" A voice echoed out from the jungle.

"Sure did, bru, scouts reported back an hour ago. Said they found some ruins up in the mountains, biggest one yet. I'm no archaeologist or whatever, but it sure as hell sounds like a hit to me," a much deeper voice responded. Nick and Judy both heard and saw the rustling of bushes in the distance as the two mammals approached.

"Oh crap!" Nick whispered.

"Get down!" Judy grabbed Nick by the shirt and pulled him as low to the ground as possible, concealing both of them in the long grass. They slowly crawled to the edge and peered down at the clearing below.

"Then why the hell are we wasting time all the way out here?" the first mammal asked, revealed to be a jackal wearing a short sleeved uniform without armour. "We came all the way to this godsdamn island looking for that city and even though they've found it, they still got us wandering around out here looking for two idiot foxes and some bunny.

"Cackler says they're loose ends that need to be tied up, so we're gonna tie 'em up," the jackal's partner replied, an imposing cape buffalo. "You really think it's a good idea to question the boss' orders?"

"Hell no, I don't have a blimming deathwish," the jackal responded, leaning over and spitting on the ground. "Doesn't change the fact I'm still gonna bitch about it when he ain't around…"

"Yeah, well, just make sure to keep a tight lid when anyone who matters is around. The sooner Cackler and the rich boy get whatever they're looking for in that city, the sooner we can get the hell out of here," the bull shrugged. "This island gives me the creeps. I'd rather get back to our usual shit."

The smaller mercenary nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it, this isn't the kinda crap I signed up for. Leave treasure hunting to the...uhh...treasure hunters. I'd take a good coup over this mess any day."

"Welp, looks like Dante found the city alright," Nick whispered. Despite his change of heart, he still couldn't help but feel conflicted about the news.

"Great, that should give us a clear path to the beach then," Judy whispered back. She nodded her head towards the mercenaries. "Now we just wait until they head back into the jungle, then we can grab one of the jeeps and go get Finn."

"I don't know, Carrots," Nick responded wearily. "Two jeeps means there's probably more of them, we might need to-"

The rustling of bushes cut Nick off as his attention was drawn back to the mercenaries down below. To his frustration, he saw what was probably the rest of the missing mercenaries emerge from the brush on the opposite side of the clearing.

"Hey guys, get a load of who we found," a familiar voice called out. Nick only had to look for a moment before realizing the mammal was none other than that idiot cheetah, Baju. Behind him was a zebra with a red sash over his Coastline uniform, probably some sort of officer if he had to guess. At the back of the group was the battered and furious as ever looking nyala, Tanger. He was holding his rifle in one hoof, and a bruised fennec fox in the other.

"Oh no…" Judy whispered.

"Gramps…"

With a growl, Tanger tossed the older fox toward the mercenary pair by the jeeps. Finnick landed with a grunt and struggled to get up, only managing to make it onto his knees before looking up at the jackal and cape buffalo. Even from this far away, Nick could see that he had a bruised eye, was bleeding from the muzzle, and was mad as hell.

"Who the?" The bull looked down at the small fox in confusion. "This ain't Wilde, and big ears aside, it sure as shit ain't a bunny."

"Nah, bru, that's his partner." The jackal gave Baju a congratulatory thumbs up. "Nice catch, mam!"

The cheetah waved off the compliment. "Nah, Tanger's who you should be giving props to, he's the one that caught 'im."

As Tanger reached the jeeps, it finally became apparent just why the nyala mercenary looked so furious. Looking closely, Nick saw that there was a shoddy looking bandage taped to the side of the antelope's muzzle, blood dripping from the side and down his neck as it became apparent what a lousy patch job it was.

"Not before the little guy bit a chunk outta his face though, but small price to pay for a job well done, right bru?" Baju nodded at the nyala with a smile, only for it to fade as he noticed how furious his partner was. "...Bru?"

"You, shut up! For once in your life, grant me a bit of mercy and keep that gaping hole of stupidity that is your mouth closed," Tanger growled, jabbing a hoof at the cheetah. "And you…" he turned his attention to Finnick. "There are _so _many things I'm going to be doing to you for this ya damn brakk!"

"You should be thanking me," Finnick grumbled. "Red's a good look on you, better than my jackass of a partner, that's for sure. And it sure as hell's an improvement over your ugly ass mug from earlier."

"Huh…" Nick whispered to himself. "Always figured he was all talk whenever he went on about that, never thought he'd actually do it."

"Nick, shut up!" Judy snapped, elbowing him in the side. "This is serious!"

"I am being serious, Carrots! He talked about biting my face off for years! This is a big step up for hi-"

Nick immediately aborted his ill-conceived attempt at levity when he saw Tanger crack the butt of his rifle right into Finn's face, knocking the small fox to the ground. Despite the hit, he managed to pull himself back up, glaring at the prey mercenary as he spitefully spat out some blood.

"That the best you got?" Finnick grunted. "Most of the gals I've been with hit harder than that."

Tanger raised his rifle up again, but the zebra officer grabbed the weapon with a hoof. "Cool it," he ordered, releasing his hold once he was sure Tanger wouldn't follow through. "He's been in contact with the others, which means he's got info Cackler will want."

Shoving Tanger out of the way, the officer stepped forward and leaned down, looking right into Finnick's eyes. "Where are the others?"

"What others?" Finnick scoffed.

"Wilde and the bunny, we know you've been talking to them, so where did they go?"

Nick couldn't help but silently panic, he knew Finn would never give them up, he was too loyal and stubborn. But he also knew what that would mean for the poor old fox. That loyalty was seriously going to get him killed one day, as Finnick himself would often grumble. That was...assuming today wasn't that day…

"Hell if I know, don't exactly keep tabs on those two. Besides, was too busy sleeping with shit-for-brains over there's mom last night." He mockingly nodded his head at Tanger.

The antelope responded by slamming his rifle into Finnick's face. Again the fox went down, and again, he pulled himself back up. Not one to be intimidated, he fixed a defiant gaze on the nyala.

"Seriously, you should call her more often. She misses you."

Tanger struck him over the head this time, knocking the desert fox out cold.

"Enough!" the officer barked, shoving Tanger back. "Cackler and Dante are gonna want to speak with him, and I'd prefer he be able to actually respond coherently, assuming you didn't just beat him to death."

"Are you kidding me? After what the bastard did to my face?" Tanger snorted furiously. "You know this shit is never gonna heal, right? As if my horn and balls weren't bad enough."

The zebra, clearly having had enough of Tanger's attitude, cracked him across the side of his head with a hoof, knocking the nyala to the ground.

"Quit your whining unless you want to lose the other horn too. You don't get to bitch about scars with the kind of scratch we'll be making off this job." The equine pointed at the cape buffalo and jackal, then to Finnick's unconscious form. "You two, quit standing around like idiots and get him into the jeep. Cackler and Dante'll want to see what he knows. He's with Wilde, so if nothing else, he'll make good leverage."

"On it," the Jackal responded as he grabbed the unconscious desert fox and dropped him in the back of the larger jeep while the bull climbed in front and started up the engine.

Tanger started making his way towards the back of the jeep until the zebra officer grabbed his arm. "Not you, I'd rather this one make it to the bosses _without _a broken neck."

Tanger looked at the zebra briefly before ripping his arm free and stepping towards the other jeep instead, letting out a small growl.

"You two just follow us in the other one," the zebra ordered as he climbed into the side of the larger jeep. "And try not to do anything stupid."

As the first jeep drove away, Tanger climbed into the driver's seat and started up the other jeep while Baju got into the passenger seat. "Not...a word," he growled as he saw the giddy look on his partner's face.

"You were totally gonna break his neck, weren't you, bru?" the cheetah giggled.

Tanger just let out a frustrated sigh, not even looking at the spotted feline.

"Bru?" Baju asked, confused by the response. "Were you gonna break his-"

The cheetah was thrown backwards as Tanger pressed his hoof on the gas and the jeep shot off with a roar, speeding after the others and disappearing into the jungle.

"Dammit, Finn…" Nick growled. This was going to make shit way more complicated…

He looked over at the bunny, expecting that he'd need to comfort her, but all he saw was a determined look on her face as she stared at the mountains.

"We have to get him back," she stated resolutely.

"That's gonna be a problem, you heard what they said, they're taking him to Dante," Nick pointed out.

"Which means they'll be heading for the city…" Judy started. "Along with a small army…"

"Yeah…" was all Nick could say. He'd been too focused on his obsession to give it much thought earlier, but Judy had been right, that would be a suicide mission.

The rabbit sat there for several moments, her ears and nose twitching as she pondered before finally shaking her head and getting up. "Well then, let's get going!"

The fox blinked in confusion. "Say what now?"

"What do you mean 'say what now?' We've gotta save Finn!" The rabbit hopped off the edge of the ridge and started sliding down.

"Oh no, no, no, no! You're not coming with me!" Nick jumped down, moving to cut her off as they reached the bottom.

"What? And why not?"

"You were right, going to that city is suicide. You need to get as far away from this place as possible."

"Not happening!" Judy answered, folding her arms over her chest.

"Aren't you the one who said this wasn't worth dying over?" Nick argued.

"That was different," Judy snapped back. "When it was just for some treasure and your stupid pride. This is Finn we're talking about! I know you won't leave him behind after everything he's done for you, and I also know given the odds you're up against, you're gonna need all the help you can get, so quit wasting time trying to fight me on this and let's go already!"

"Nuh uh, no way, not happening, Carrots," Nick waved his arms and shook his head. "You're not going up there. If you really want to help, go secure a boat and wait for us at the beach."

Judy just huffed and rolled her eyes. "It's cute you think you have any say in the matter." She jumped past Nick and tore off running down the road, leaving the surprised fox in her wake.

"Judy!" Nick called out. He glanced back at the ledge outcropping and then to the mountains where Henosia lay. There were so many conflicting thoughts flying around in his head right now, but time was too short to deal with any of them. "Godsdammit! Stupid, stubborn bunny!" he growled as he took off running after the reporter.


	17. Taking the High Road

"There's no way this is going to work…"

"Of course it's going to work, Slick. You just need to have some faith."

"We don't need faith, Carrots. We need guns!"

"And we will. Guns _and_ a jeep. But none of that's going to happen if you don't light the fire."

"Alright, fine. Not like I have any better ideas," Nick sighed, striking the match against the pile of sticks and dry leaves they had gathered and igniting it. "I'm not sure why I'm the one doing this, they're _your _matches."

"Because we need to move quickly and you're the faster climber," Judy answered from atop the ruined structure she was perched on. "Now quit complaining and get up here before somebody sees us!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming, yeesh," Nick snapped as he quickly scaled up the building and got down on all fours next to the rabbit behind a piece of broken rubble. "Are all bunnies this impatient? Or is it just you?"

"If that's how you describe somebody who wants to make sure the both of us are still alive five minutes from now because we didn't get caught out in the open by a bunch of trigger-happy lunatics, then yes, I am very impatient," Judy retorted. "Now keep still, it won't be long before somebody sees the fire."

The ruined building was part of an old set of ruins that sat on the edge of the road they had been following, it was most likely some sort of ancient guard post. The surrounding walls had almost entirely fallen away with various plants and vines managing to force their way through the rubble and cracks in the ground. There were several ruined buildings spread throughout the site, but most of them were little more than hollowed out husks or piles of wreckage and stone. The one the fox and bunny had chosen was the only one still even remotely intact.

A plume of smoke began to form from the newly lit fire and slowly rose above the surrounding jungle and ruins, contrasting sharply against the blue sky and white clouds above. It would make for an ideal lure, that thing could probably be seen for miles around.

"Alright, shouldn't be long before they get here," Judy whispered. "We got this, right?"

Nick looked at the boulder they were hiding behind and then back down at the lit fire. There were issues with the plan for sure, but he may have been too quick to dismiss it. At least the bunny had come up with something, and it certainly had _some _merits. But then again, the plan still involved going up against armed mercs without any real weapons of their own... "Probably," he finally answered.

"Probably?"

"Yeah," Nick shrugged. "Probably."

"What do you mean, probably?" The doe asked, a hint of an offended tone in her voice.

"I mean, it might work. That's better than 'definitely won't work', right?"

Judy just glared at Nick, her eyes narrowing in annoyance. "You aren't very good at inspiring confidence, you know that?" Apparently acknowledging that the plan could work just wasn't enough for _some_ mammals.

"Yeah, well, no point dwelling on it now," Nick said with a roll of his eyes. "Given our track record, even if it can work, something will probably go wrong anyways."

"Don't jinx us…" Judy winced.

"Too late." Nick's ears perked up at the sound of an approaching jeep. "Sounds like somebody's taken the bait."

The fox and rabbit pressed down low against the stone roof as they heard the vehicle slow to a stop and cut the engine. Laying in silence, they began to hear the sound of crunching footsteps gradually getting closer.

"Over there," a voice called out. "Looks like some joker was trying to light up a barbeque."

Peeking out from over the edge of the roof, Nick saw that the mammal speaking was a tusked boar holding a semi-automatic rifle in one hoof, a Musteller M-30 from the looks of it. Behind him were two striped weasels, both wearing armour and helmets with submachine guns drawn.

"Think it's whoever's been getting the jump on our boys?" one of the weasels asked.

"Wait for it…" Judy quietly whispered, the anticipation weighing heavily in her voice.

"Nah, no way mam," the boar shook his head, taking a step closer as he kicked over the burning pile. "No blood, no chewed up bodies, no nothin'. Besides, the other sites didn't have any fires, whoever got them just struck and vanished like a blimming ghost."

"Still, whatever domkop did this was trying to get our attention," the second weasel suggested. "Might be Wilde and the bunny."

"Certainly hope so," the boar snorted. "Boss and the rich boy'll pay out big for whoever brings 'em their hides."

"Now!"

Seeing that the trio had gathered around the burning pile as planned, Nick nodded and began pressing his weight against the boulder alongside the rabbit, shoving it towards the edge of the roof. Despite the fox's reservations, the bunny's plan had indeed been a pretty solid one, any plan that involves taking out three armed mercs without firing a single shot was always A-OK in his books, no matter how bizarre. That is to say, the plan _would _have been a pretty solid one, if not for the fact that they had failed to take into account that a several thousand year old roof might not react well to the sudden shift in weight that comes from shoving a boulder.

Unsurprisingly, the roof caved in and the boulder smashed into the ground shy of its intended target. Instead of being flattened beneath a giant rock as planned, the three mercenaries were showered in a storm of fragmented stone shards.

"Who the-" the boar started in alarm as he and the weasels turned around in surprise. Looking up, they beheld the sight of the fox and rabbit crouched awkwardly above a newly torn hole in the roof.

"Uhh...any chance you guys happened to find our rock?" Nick grinned awkwardly.

"It's them!" one of the weasels shouted. Taking that as their cue that the mercenaries weren't in the mood for stupid one-liners, Nick and Judy pressed flat against the ground as the roof was lit up with small arms fire and ricocheting bullets.

"I told you something would go wrong," Nick growled in frustration.

"And you thought making a dumb joke about a missing rock would work?"

"No! I thought it'd trip them up for a second. Which it did, by the way, since they didn't just immediately shoot us."

"And yet we're still stuck on the roof. Yeah, _real_ nice plan, there!"

"Hey, if you got something better, I'd _love_ to hear it. Because we've got about another twenty seconds at the most before they blast through the rest of this roof, and if we don't figure out a way out of here by then, we'll both end up as Dante and Cackler's newest rugs."

"I do have a plan, actually. I was just waiting until they stopped to reload," Judy answered right as the gunfire ceased. "Which they have, by the way. You take the boar."

"Wait, what?"

"Go!" Judy shouted, springing up and leaping forward with her left foot leading. One of the weasels managed to look up from his gun just in time to catch the full force of the rabbit's foot smashing into his face, his helmet flying off as he hit the ground hard with a loud thud.

"Shit!" the other weasel merc shouted in surprise, trying to bring his weapon to bear on the rabbit. He managed to fire off a shot, but the bunny was moving too fast, scooping the discarded helmet off the ground and getting in close enough to slam it square into the weasel merc's stomach. The mustelid let out a pained grunt and dropped his weapon, only to get launched off his feet as the reporter followed through with an uppercut square in the muzzle. He managed to let out a single agonized gasp as he hit the ground before passing out.

Caught by surprise at the reporter's sudden attack, Nick scrambled to his feet and leaped off the roof towards the boar with an attack of his own. Paw balled in a fist, he aimed for a knockout blow to rival that of the rabbits, only to not quite hit the mark as his fist only managed to partially connect with the mercenary's face, knocking him back as the fox crashed into the ground.

"Ow...didn't stick the landing," Nick grunted as he pulled himself up, seeing that he had at least managed to somewhat daze the larger mammal.

"You little...!" the boar mercenary growled as he shook his head and swung his rifle toward the fox, firing wildly.

"Crap," Nick yelped as he rolled out of the way of several shots and dove behind the closest wrecked building. "To be fair, that first hit was supposed to knock you out!"

"Shut up and come on out, ya blimming brakk," the mercenary yelled as he fired at what was left of the building wall, bullets punching through the stone and forcing Nick to duck down as small shards of splintering stone struck him. "Promise I won't make it _too _painful."

"Ugh, nobody ever seems to get my charm," Nick bemoaned as he tried to stay low, looking around for anything he could use. A rock, a stick, maybe a piece of that shattered boulder, anything really...

As his paw brushed against his satchel, he was hit with a sudden wave of inspiration. Flipping the satchel open, he reached in and found what he needed, a spare grappling hook still wrapped up in rope. Some of Finnick's pearls of wisdom flashed through his mind as he held it.

_"Seriously, Kid, you're bold, but you're easily one of the most reckless morons I've ever met, so you better make damn sure to keep spares on ya. A mammal can never know for sure when they might lose an important part of their gear, especially in your case, given all the dumb shit you do on a daily basis."_

"That's Gramps for ya, always finding a way to straddle the line between helpful mentor and grumpy asshole," Nick mumbled as he crept around the side of the building, the metal hook gripped in his paw. "Would still prefer a gun, but hey, when you don't have a good plan, may as well go with the least terrible one..."

Taking a deep breath, the fox kept low and sprinted around the ruin, managing to circle around and catch the mercenary from behind. The boar heard the sound of footsteps and turned just as Nick swung the hook low, catching him in the back of the knee. He pulled hard on the hook, swinging the mercenary's leg out from under him and the boar landed on his back with a grunt, his rifle dropping to the ground with a clatter.

Nick swung the hook overhead and smashed it against the mercenary's head with a forceful crack, knocking the boar out cold. "Nice! Let's just pretend that was the first time and call it there." He sighed in relief as a peaceful silence finally fell over the ruins.

"Nick, you okay?"

The fox turned around to see Judy hopping over a pile of rubble and dropping down to the ground next to him, a new pistol and holster hanging from her hip.

"I'm okay," Nick nodded, loosely wrapping up the grappling hook and clipping it to his belt. "Managed to take care of my guy, you?"

"They won't be getting back up any time soon," Judy smirked. "Sounds like things didn't go quite as smoothly on your end, though."

"Hey, I took him out, Fluff, that's what matters," Nick tried to defend, pawing through the mercenary's gear as he pulled out several magazines of ammo and the mammal's sidearm. "Besides, unlike you, I'm about results. I don't go for style points or your fancy schmancy bun fu moves."

"Oh really?" Judy raised an eyebrow. "Because judging by all the gunfire, and _whimpering _coming from your side, it seems like I fared far better with my 'fancy schmancy' moves. So I guess that means I got you beat in both results _and _style points."

The fox opened his mouth to retort, but only silence escaped his muzzle. His mind drawing a blank as he stared into those obnoxiously smug violet eyes.

_Walked right into that one..._

"Let's just get the damn jeep already…" Nick sighed in irritation as he slumped off towards the Coastline vehicle. He and the bunny may have come to a better understanding, but it still stung a bit to lose face to her like that. Although he couldn't for the life of him figure out if it was because he wanted to rub it in her face, or if he wanted to impress her.

"Such a witty retort," Judy smugly responded.

"Shut up…"

"Wow, Slick, you're on a roll today."

"Are you coming or what? Still need to save Gramps whenever you're done rubbing it in."

As soon as they reached the road, they found the Coastline jeep the mercenaries had brought just sitting on the path with the doors hanging open. Talk about irresponsible use of equipment.

"See? I told you we'd get a jeep," Judy beamed at the fox as she climbed into the passenger's seat. "You just gotta have some more faith. I could teach you a thing or two if you're willing to listen."

"Yeah, yeah, you're a real miracle worker," Nick deadpanned as he climbed in the driver's side and began adjusting the seat to his size. "Now how about you go and work up another miracle for me? Go through the glove compartment and see if you can find anything."

"Sure," the rabbit replied. As Nick adjusted the seat, he heard the sound of shuffling as the bunny reached around inside the compartment. Once he was satisfied that driving the jeep wouldn't be too big of a pain, he looked over at Judy.

"Find anything?"

"Something," Judy answered in a somewhat confounded tone. "They jammed a bunch of grenades in here. I mean, seriously? I'd ask what kind of idiots do something that stupid and dangerous, but then I remembered just who we're dealing with."

"Hey, that means your learning. Congrats!" Nick said with an only semi-mocking clap of his paws. "Just try not to blow us up while you paw around in there."

"No promises," the reporter mumbled as she kept searching before finally sticking her head back up. "Found another radio, should make a good replacement for the one we lost in the crash." She held the device in one paw as she stared at something else in the other. "And...looks like some sort of photo...or...maybe a makeshift map of the island?"

"Let me see it," Nick asked, taking the offered map in paw. It was an aerial photo of the island, most likely taken from the helicopter he'd seen flying in along with the rest of the Coastline fleet. It was hardly what he would call an elaborate map. Most of the markings had been drawn in with pen, but it'd still be useful enough for the two of them.

"Looks like they mapped out the roads and areas of interest," Judy noted, pointing to the outlines of roads covering the island and several marked regions. "We've got...the Coastline landing site...the Nocturnal Fortress...and…" She poked at a large site of ruins deep in the mountains. "I'm guessing that's Henosia?"

"Sure is," Nick nodded, tapping at the city. "And that's where we'll be heading." From what he could tell, there were two main roads leading up to the city. One path was much longer, seeming to gradually follow the edges of the mountains before finally reaching the city proper. The other one was far more direct, moving along a river that seemed to pass through the city and down the mountains, but despite seeming shorter, the path had been rather ominously crossed out on the map.

"Looks like they opted to take the longer path," Judy noted, her nose twitching in thought.

"Probably because the direct path was too dangerous for them," Nick nodded. "Which makes it the perfect choice for us."

"If it's too dangerous, then it probably means we won't run into any Coastline that way," the doe agreed. "We might even be able to beat them to the city if they're taking the long route." The rabbit's ears drooped a bit as her voice became less certain, "Assuming whatever's on the shorter route doesn't kill us…"

"Well, look on the bright side," Nick smiled as he grabbed the keys, which the Coastline mercs had been considerate enough to just leave in the ignition, and started up the engine. "At least we get to choose our suicide route this time. And personally, I'd prefer the one where I don't have to worry about listening to some smug Southern Savanna asshole laugh at me as I bleed out."

"Wow...that picture you just painted managed to be both snarky _and _grim..." Judy shuddered. "But I will agree with you on taking the path with less Coastline…"

"So glad we can come to an understanding, then." Nick was about to press down on the accelerator when he was hit with the realization that he'd forgotten one very important detail. "Oh, one more thing before we go. You still got that flower?"

"Flower?" Judy asked in confusion as the fox looked at her expectantly. It took her a moment to realize what he was actually talking about. "Oh! You mean the artifact! Yeah, I've been holding onto it ever since the fortress."

"Good, you mind giving it here, then?" Nick held out a paw towards the rabbit.

"Sure," Judy pulled the flower-shaped key out and placed it in the fox's outstretched paw. "What for?"

"It's supposed to be the key to the city, right? Probably gonna need it once we get there." Nick stared down at the artifact, examining the intricate floral design and patterns etched into the metal. The two of them had gone through quite a lot of shit trying to find it. The underground booby traps that nearly buried them alive, the APC that tried to pancake them, that little stint in the jail cell followed by the less than optimal escape that ended with them plummeting off a cliff and nearly drowning. And if all that hadn't been enough, even Finnick had been caught because of this damned thing. "You'd better be worth all this trouble, you stupid flower..." He stuck the artifact into his pack and pressed down on the gas. The jeep sped forward as they drove towards the mountains.

* * *

"So, who do you think they were talking about?"

"Hmm?"

"Right before the fighting started, one of those Coastline mercs said something about other patrols getting ambushed," Judy clarified as they drove further into the mountains. "Blood, chewed up bodies, struck and vanished like a 'blimming ghost,' any of this ringing a bell?"

"Vaguely, had a lot going with the whole shit-show that botched ambush turned into," Nick responded, only half paying attention as he tried to focus on the road. It had been a big enough pain in the ass just to get this jeep, and the last thing he needed was to wreck it driving up a very old and sketchy looking path. He was starting to understand just why Coastline had written if off in the first place. "What about it, Carrots? Looking to flex those supercop instincts of yours again?"

"It's just really been bugging me." Nick could hear the tapping of the rabbit's foot against the jeep interior as she twisted her adorable bunny face in deep thought. "Something about it seems off, I just can't figure out what, exactly."

"Who knows," Nick said with a dismissive shrug. "Could be they ran afoul of some wild animals or something and a bunch of paranoid mercs are just passing around exaggerated rumours. I mean, these guys are pretty far out of their comfort zone, remember?"

"I don't know, if it was just some wild animal like a komodo dragon or something, then why haven't we seen any sign of them?"

"Okay, here's the thing, I love a good mystery as much as the next mammal, but this really isn't something we can afford to waste time dwelling on," Nick started. "Not if we want to beat Dante and Cackler to Henosia and rescue Finn. Let's just be grateful that some thoughtful animal or savage mammal or whatever was considerate enough to weed out a few Coastline assholes for us and focus on what matters. I need to make sure we get up this road in one piece and it's going to be pretty counterproductive if we wind up plummeting over the edge and getting engulfed in a massive fireball because I was too distracted by this Nancy Shrew shit to keep an eye on the road."

"Alright, fine," Judy relented. "Point taken. Just don't want this to wind up being something that comes back to bite us later...possibly literally…"

Nick had spent the better part of the last half hour navigating their 'borrowed' jeep along a stone path cutting through the mountains. The path itself wasn't very rocky, but it had led them to some precariously high cliffs. Down below lay the river they had been following with the roaring torrent of a waterfall echoing somewhere nearby. If that map was correct, the path would follow the river straight to Henosia, provided they didn't plummet to their deaths before getting there.

"Starting to wonder if we would've been better off taking our chances with Coastline." Judy gulped as she peered over the edge of the cliff, uneasy with how far down the drop was.

"Grass is always greener and all that jazz. Just don't look down and we'll be fine."

"Pretty sure you butchered the phrase," Judy mumbled.

As Nick turned around a tight corner in the path, he spotted the waterfall they had been hearing up ahead, with two massive statues carved into the cliffs on each side of it. They were both pretty worn from the elements and overgrown with vegetation to the point that it almost looked like they were sporting patches of leafy green fur. From what Nick could tell, one of them was some sort of canid, and the other was a dear, both with their hooves and paws held outward in welcoming gestures. "Either way, this grass is starting to look a hell of a lot greener," he said with a cocky smile as they followed the path onto a relatively flat plateau at the top of the waterfall with an impressive set of ruins built into it. "Got ourselves a nice flat road finally, and not a single Coastline asshole in sight."

"This place is incredible…" the bunny whistled in awe. This had been some of the most impressive ruins so far, even rivalling the interior of the Nocturnal Fortress in terms of marvel and splendour. The river and plateau were aligned with elaborate mosaics and statues sporting mammals of all types and sizes, from prey to predator, megafauna to rodent, and seemingly everything in between. None of them stood as tall as the initial two statues at the waterfall, but they were still amazing sights to behold. Even the overgrowth and worn down features failed to detract from the view. If anything, it added an air of majestic mystery to this place. For the first time, it truly felt like they were traversing the ancient remains of the once great society that had seemingly vanished from the world so long ago. "Really wishing I still had my camera."

"Questioning whether you made the right choice, Carrots?" Nick asked with a wink.

"No," Judy answered just a bit too quickly.

Nick just fixed her with a smug grin, clearly aimed at making her fess up the truth.

"Well...maybe a little…" she finally mumbled.

"There we go," Nick said, his grin somehow getting even wider. "Was that so hard?"

"I'm so going to smack you _so _hard upside the head once you're done driving," the reporter grumbled.

"Ooh, is that a promise?" Nick joked as they followed the path across the plateau ruins.

As they reached a stone bridge crossing the river, Nick pulled the jeep to a stop. "How's that bridge look to you?"

"Gimme a sec." Judy stood up in her seat to get a better look, eyes narrowed as she tried to get a better reading of it. "Well...I'd say even under normal circumstances, I'd probably never want to set foot on something like that."

"Yeah...hardly seems ideal…" Nick frowned as he stared at the old stone bridge. It looked pretty worn down, with outlines of cracks visible in the stone. It certainly wouldn't have been up to code by most modern city standards...or probably whatever standards existed back before this island had vanished from the collective memory of mammalkind. As if that wasn't discouraging enough, the water beneath was flowing at an alarmingly fast rate. The high speed of the current combined with the steep walls and rocks shoring up the edges of the river meant that should they fall in, they'd be hard pressed to be able to get back out. "Still...it's managed to stand for this long, right? Gotta mean it's at least _somewhat _sturdy."

"Sturdy enough to support the full weight of a jeep though?" the reporter questioned in a doubtful tone. "You sure there isn't a better way to reach the city? One that _doesn't _end with us getting swept over a waterfall?"

"Not without ditching the jeep," Nick pointed out. "And rescuing Finn's going to be a lot harder if Coastline beats us to the city."

"You're right," Judy sighed. "Sweet ginger, I hate it when you're right…"

"Okay...unnecessarily harsh...But in this case, I still have to agree with you," Nick responded, echoing the rabbit's sigh. "So how do you want to do this, then? Fast or slow?"

The doe tapped her foot as she pondered her answer. "Slow…maybe we'll get lucky and the bridge will hold if the strain is more gradual."

"Alright, slow it is." Nick took a deep breath and pressed lightly on the gas, slowly moving the jeep onto the bridge. The fox could feel his fur standing on end as he gradually crossed over the river, the groaning and cracking of stone prickling his ears and causing them to flick instinctively as the bridge struggled to support the additional weight now pressing down on it. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Judy's ears ramrod stiff, her own fur standing on end as well.

"There we go, nice and easy," Nick soothed, hoping that his gentle encouragement might somehow help keep the bridge from collapsing.

"It's working," Judy excitedly whispered, as if even raising her voice a bit too much might somehow cause the bridge to break. "We're going to make it!"

"Yup," Nick nodded. "Good call, Fluff." After so many setbacks, it was nice that things might actually go their way for once.

The optimism in the air was promptly shattered with a cacophony of sharp cracks as part of the bridge violently shifted and broke away behind them, collapsing into the river. The rest of the bridge began to shudder and buckle harshly as it became increasingly unstable.

"I was wrong!" Judy cried out in alarm. "Screw slow, punch it, Slick!"

"Punching!" Nick jammed on the gas and the jeep rocketed forward. The fox struggled to keep the jeep moving straight as the rapidly shifting bridge started to slide, segments collapsing into the river as he drove over them. "Lousy stupid-ass bridge! I try to be a nice and respectful gentlemamal, and this is the thanks I get?! You had one freaking job!" he shouted in frustration as he felt more of the bridge breaking away beneath him.

The duo were nearly off the bridge as the other side of the river laid bare to them, only to find themselves suddenly facing a torrent of fast moving water instead as the final section in front of them collapsed and they crashed into the river with a thunderous splash. It was shallow enough that they didn't sink, but the rapid flow of cold mountain water still managed to wash over them and the jeep, delivering a freezing jolt.

"Nick, get us to the edge before we get swept over the waterfall!"

"I'm trying!" Nick grunted, struggling in vain to steer the jeep against the river. "Damn current's too strong!"

Nick and Judy were nearly thrown from their seats when the jeep was pushed into the side of a rock sticking out of the river and bounced off of it. "Hold on!" The fox shouted as the current continued pushing the jeep forward in a slow spin.

"Over there!" Judy shouted, pointing towards a massive log wedged between two rocks near the edge of the river. "We can use that to climb out!"

Nick gritted his teeth, pulling on the steering wheel with all his might in the hope it might do at least a little bit to guide the flooded jeep towards the rocks and log. "Brace for impa-"

_*CRACK!* _

The jeep smashed against the log and nearby rock, interrupting the fox and nearly throwing off his balance. The log bounced forward slightly from the impact but held firm, a low groan ringing out over the thrashing of the rapids as it struggled to hold out against the force of the jeep and water pressing against it.

"Now, before it breaks!" Nick grabbed Judy with both paws, standing up on his seat and shoving her onto the top of the log before moving to climb up after her.

"Hurry, Nick!" Judy urged, looking back as she started making her way across the slanted log towards safety. All the while the groaning of the log getting louder and the sound of cracking wood growing in intensity as the log started to buckle under the pressure.

"Just go, don't worry about me," Nick responded, scampering up the log after her. Neither of them got far though before the log finally caved to the pressure and snapped in half with a harsh crack, sending both of them tumbling back into the jeep. Nick banged his head against the jeep door as he landed and the whole world turned fuzzy for a brief moment before he was jolting back to his senses by a splash of cold mountain water.

"Uhh, Nick?"

"Huh?" The treasure hunter managed to sit back up, finding he was still stuck in the semi-flooded jeep with the rabbit as it was being carried down the river.

"Up ahead!" Judy franticly pointed at the approaching waterfall, a wide-eyed look on her face.

"Oh...waterfall," the fox noted. He shook his head to rid himself of some of the leftover daze as he did a double take. "Wait...waterfall?!"

"Your hook!"

"What?" Nick looked up and saw that there was a particularly large tree at the edge of the waterfall, its roots digging into the rocky cliffside. Attached to the tree was a long branch hanging out over the abyss. Truth be told, there was no telling if it could support his and the reporter's weight, especially given the tree's precarious position, but it still probably made for better odds than going over the falls and getting smashed against the rocks below.

"Get on my back and hold tight!" Nick ordered, getting up and straddling his feet on the two jeep seats as he pulled out his grappling hook, preparing for the throw.

"You'd better not miss!" Judy yelled as she climbed onto his back, wrapping bother her arms tightly around him.

"Not that I want to, but you won't be getting a chance to chew me out if I do happen to miss. Just saying." Nick focused on the branch, spinning his hook as he waited for the right moment.

_Don't screw this up... _

Just as he felt the jeep begin to shift and go over the edge of the falls, he leaped forward with all his might, aiming high as he tossed the grappling hook towards the branch.

"Woooaaahhh!"

He gripped the rope as hard as he could, feeling the tips of his claws digging into his pads as he started to plummet and the wind rushed past his fur. It only lasted briefly though as he wrenched to a stop and the rope pulled tight. He let out a laugh that was equal parts exhausted, panicked and triumphant as he looked down and saw the jeep plummeting towards the bottom of the waterfall. It smashed into the rocks poking out of the river below, erupting in an explosive blast.

"It's okay…" Nick said, laughing with relief as he and the bunny swayed back and forth over the precipice. "We're okay!"

There was a loud crack and a jarring shift as the two of them suddenly dropped several feet. Nick nearly lost his grip but managed to hold on, merely landing himself with some rope burn instead. A groaning sound not too dissimilar from the log they had crashed into earlier started echoing in Nick's ears, but on a much larger scale.

"The tree!" Judy yelled. "The tree is _not _okay!"

"Aww come on!" Nick whined in irritation, looking up to see that the tree in question was starting to tear loose, small chunks of the cliffside breaking loose as the roots shifted and the trunk began to bend further over the waterfall. "Why does all this shit keep breaking on us?!"

"Not the time for rhetorical questions!" Judy cut in.

"Right, right, bitch about it later." Looking down, the treasure hunter noticed the statue of the deer that had been carved into the cliff, a hoof stretched out just close enough for him to reach if he swung hard enough.

"Help me get over there," Nick yelled out as he swung his body back and forth. He could feel the doe on his back doing the same, throwing her weight in unison with his as they increased their collective momentum, steadily getting closer to the outstretched stone hoof.

"Come on," he heard the rabbit mumble as they gradually swung further and further. The groaning and cracking of wood got steadily louder as the tree started to shift more and more, each time causing them to drop a bit further.

Finally, when the fox was certain they could make the jump, he released his hold on the hook and flew towards the statue, ready to catch the ledge. He felt the harsh sting in his paws as he grasped the edge, followed quickly by painful jolt flowing through the rest of his body. A momentary wave of relief washed over him and then just as quickly vanished when the stone cracked and his paws slipped.

"Crap!"

With no time to think, he lashed his paws out for anything to grab, flailing until he felt something small and instinctively grasped onto it, squeezing as tightly as he could and bringing his unplanned descent to an abrupt end.

With one final uproarious series of strained cracks, the tree above broke away from its foundations and Nick could only hang there as he saw it fly past him and crash into the surface below, small chunks of rock plummeting after it.

"Oh mam," Nick sighed in exhaustion, his arm feeling more than a little strained now that he was holding up his and the bunny's entire weight by a single paw. "Now _that _was a close one, eh Carrots?" He waited for the bunny's either annoyed or freaked out response, either of which would undoubtedly be adorable, only to be confused when he was met with silence. It didn't take long for that confusion to turn to panic once he realized he couldn't feel the rabbit on his back anymore.

"Carrots?!"

A cold wave of dread began to wash over the fox as he frantically looked around.

What the hell had happened? Where did she go? Did she make the jump? Did she get tossed off when his grip slipped?

Things only spiralled further as he began to fear the worst.

This couldn't be happening! She couldn't be dead! He couldn't have hustled her into coming all this way just to get her killed! He was supposed to keep her safe! How could he be so stupid? He was a fool to think he could ever amount to anything! The two of them never should have met, she'd still be alive if that had been the case! Now she was as good as gone and it was all his fault! He was a curse! Such a fu-

"So…heavy…" an incredibly strained voice croaked.

"Huh?" Nick's ears flicked in confusion as he tried to figure out if he'd imagined that voice before realizing it was coming from above. Staring up, he finally noticed just what it was he had managed to grab onto as he fell. It was a rabbit's leg.

"Judy?!"

"Can you...climb up...please?" Judy practically squeaked, her every word dripping with strained agony as she struggled to support their combined weight. "Can't...hold on...much...longer…"

"Oh crap, sorry," Nick quickly apologized, feeling a little stupid for failing to realize how much strain he was probably putting on her, but mostly relieved that she was alive. He braced himself, feeling somewhat guilty about how painful the next part would probably be for her. "And sorry about this, too." He pulled hard on the doe's leg to support himself as he reached up with his other paw and grasped the edge of the statue's hoof.

"Freaking chomping asparagus!" Judy cried out in anguish at the sudden painful exertion on her leg. But despite the agony it caused, she managed to hold tight until the fox could finally release his hold on her.

"Again, super sorry, I know that probably hurt a lot," Nick apologized as he pulled himself up and over the ledge. Once he was on top, he reached over and pulled the rabbit up, setting her down next to him on top of the stone hoof. "How are you feeling?"

"Can't...move my arms," Judy answered, slumping backwards and laying against the stone. "Felt like my arms were about to be torn from their sockets."

"Your grip would've given out long before then," Nick tried to say encouragingly, a sudden frown forming on his face as he realized what he just said had been anything but. "I mean...not to suggest your grip would give out too easily...it's just...you physically can't hold on long enough that they would tear loose…or...you know..." the fox rambled as he stumbled over his words, the bunny just shooting him an unimpressed glare. He seriously needed to work on his bedside manner. "Uhh...okay, let's try this again. Hey, sorry about the arms. Think you'll be okay?"

"I'll manage," Judy grunted as she sat up and started awkwardly trying to wind her arms around. "Just need to try and get them moving again."

"Alright, then let's take a quick breather until you're ready to move," Nick suggested. Noticing the dangling rope attached to his belt, he followed it over the edge of the stone hoof until he was looking down at the mangled wreckage of their 'borrowed' jeep, fire and billowing smoke still emanating from the wreckage. Dangling above it was the grappling hook, having broken loose from the tree but still remaining attached to the rope. Pulling the rope back up, he gathered it back into a bundle in one paw and grabbed the hook in the other as he turned around to stare up at the massive deer statue towering over them. "Because as much as this is going to suck, it looks like we'll be heading the rest of the way on foot."


	18. What Once Was Lost

_Author Note: Hey again, all! I've got some good news and some bad news. Good news first: With this update, the FFN version of the story is now completely caught up with the AO3 version, woo! Unfortunately, that also brings us to the bad news: Now that the FFN version of the fic is all caught up, my backlog of chapters to post is completely exhausted, which means no more weekly updates. _

_I am still working on the next chapter as always, and with this one, we've hit the final act so the actual end of the story is getting pretty close, they just won't be coming out on FFN once a week anymore. I'll still be posting new chapters on Mondays once they're out though, that system seems to have been working out pretty well. _

_I hope you'll all still stick around after this, the chapters won't be coming out as fast anymore, but I'm determined to see this through to the end, and I hope you all are too! Anyways, on with the chapter!_

* * *

"Mam, I'm so sick of climbing shit…" Nick grumbled as he pulled himself over the edge of ledge number...he couldn't even remember at this point. They had been scaling these damn rocks for nearly two hours now, what the hell did he even hope to accomplish by keeping track anyways?

"You don't get to complain, Nick. This was _your _idea," Judy snapped from just below, letting out a strained squeak as she reached up to grip the ledge. Things had been a little on the tense side. But then, that was hardly a surprise given how long the two of them had spent scaling treacherous cliffsides with nothing but their bare paws.

"Can complain, will complain," Nick said with a grunt as he lent a paw to the bunny and helped her up. "I don't know if you've noticed, but climbing up a deadly mountainside is pretty harrowing. I'd rather not have all that stress building up and throwing off my focus until I slip and wind up as a fox-shaped stain on the jungle floor. And it's not like I can use a stress ball while I'm doing this shit, so bitching and moaning is the best I've got."

"Oh really? Well in case you didn't notice, I just did the same exact climb as you and there wasn't a single squeak of complaint from me."

"Complaints? No." Nick shook his head. "Certainly heard a hell of a lot of squeaking though."

"Wait...what?" Judy asked, a baffled expression on her face.

"You seriously didn't hear the squeaking?"

"What squeaking?" Judy questioned. "I don't squeak."

"Uh-huh, sure you don't," Nick chuckled, stepping past the rabbit as she started pawing at her throat self-consciously. "On the plus side, at least we can walk from here." The fox gestured towards a jungle path at the back end of the ledge right between two adjacent rock faces. It was a pretty tight one, and the vegetation growing within was a bit too thick to allow for a simple stroll. There would certainly be a fair amount of bushwhacking, but even that made for a refreshing change of pace compared to all that damn climbing.

"We might even have a shot at catching up with Dante and Cackler now." Nick shrugged off a slight chill as he started up the path, shoving branches and vines aside as he went. "Assuming we keep up the pace and nothing _else _manages to go wrong."

"Woah, hold on, what do you mean 'might'?" Judy questioned, hurrying after him. "It didn't occur to you that this might've been worth mentioning _before _we spent two hours climbing up the side of a mountain?"

Before he could answer, the fox felt another odd chill. He wasn't quite sure why, the weather should've been too warm for that. Maybe he was starting to come down with something?

_Not the time to worry about that. Just focus on Finn._

"Well, seeing as how there's no way we'd beat those Coastline assholes on foot if we stuck to the road," Nick started, shrugging the chill off as he glanced back at the rabbit. "No, I didn't really see any point in telling you. We'll be lucky enough to get to the city in time even at this pace, and I didn't see what could be gained by pointlessly weighing you down with more doubts."

"I can handle doubts just fine, Nick, I don't need you babysitting me," Judy snapped at the fox. "We're supposed to be working together on this. If you had told me from the start, we might've been able to figure out a better plan."

"We did have a better plan, that's what the jeep was for. You remember how that turned out, don't you?" Nick fired back just as a branch caught on his shirt, wrenching him to a stop. "Son of a...stupid...twig! Find some other asshole to latch onto!" he growled as he tore the branch loose with a loud snap. "Look, we didn't have time to dwell on it, okay? Gramp's life is on the line here, I'd rather we got to him before Dante's turned him into the world's grouchiest-looking pair of slippers, even if that means having to settle with a less than ideal plan."

"Alright, alright," the reporter relented. "I'm just a bit worried we might've made the wrong call is all…" She paused for a moment, glancing down uncertainly. "Well...more than a bit, really. You're not the only one worried about Finn."

Nick let out a weary sigh. "I know, Fluff. And I appreciate the help, I really do. It's just...I've put you in enough danger already. This is my mess to fix, not yours. You don't need to be risking your neck for me and Gramps."

"It's my neck to risk, Slick," Judy retorted, looking back up at the fox. "This may be your mess, but helping you save Finn is my decision to make, not yours."

"Yeah, it's obvious I'd have to pretty much throw you off the side of the mountain to keep you from coming at this point," Nick snorted. "Hell, even that probably wouldn't be enough to stop you." He looked at the rabbit. She looked exhausted, her ears limply drooping behind her, yet she still looked every bit as determined as he was to find Finn, that fierce bunny stubbornness burning in those violet eyes of hers. Despite all the frustration and weariness of the last few hours, he couldn't help but be inspired by such determination. "So I guess I'll just have to settle with being grateful that you've got my back," he said with a smile.

"Hey, as long as you've got mine too," Judy said, a small but genuine smile of her own forming on her weary features.

"You know it," Nick nodded, suddenly feeling a little bit warmer to his surprise. He couldn't help but wonder what brought it on. Was it from all the climbing? Yeah, it was probably from the climbing.

As the duo pressed on, the path steadily started to open up, the vegetation becoming less dense and more spread out as they went. With the path becoming less of a hassle, the overly eager bunny started picking up the pace, proceeding from a trudge to a fast walk to finally jogging forward, leaving the fox behind as she disappeared into the brush ahead.

But Nick was feeling far less eager. Something had changed once they started pushing through the jungle again, becoming progressively more noticeable to the fox the further they went. Up until now, this island had felt normal, or at least as normal as an island holding the remnants of a long lost civilization and crawling with trigger happy mercenaries could be, anyways. Point being, it felt like your typical abandoned ruins. But now, as they were getting closer to the city, things had changed. It started with a few small chills, but now the sensation was practically crawling up and down his spine, his hackles feeling like they were about to raise at any moment. The very atmosphere of the jungle seemed to radiate with an oppressive aura, it made him feel like he was an intruder to be driven out. Part of him wanted to say it was just nerves getting to him now that they were so close to the city, but his treasure hunter's intuition refused to accept that excuse. There was something off about this place, something that set it apart from the rest of the island, and whatever it was, it felt dangerous.

"Would you slow down?" Nick called out. He was feeling anxious enough already, and watching the bunny speed off through the jungle wasn't doing his mood any favours. "There could be just about anything out here."

"Slow down? We can't afford to slow down! Not if we want to keep up with Coastline," the reporter called back. "Besides, who do you think we're going to run into all the way up here? We lost those Coastline clowns hours ag- Oh my gods!" the rabbit suddenly cried out in shock and horror.

"Judy? Judy!" Nick shouted, his ears flicking up and hackles raised in alarm. Terrifying visions of the potential dangers assaulting the bunny flashed through his mind as he sped off, tearing through the bushes as fast as he could. The stinging sensation of branches slapping against his skin barely registered to him as he ran, his only focus was on getting to the rabbit in time.

"Judy, talk to me! Are you okay?" The treasure hunter was so determined to reach the rabbit that he nearly crashed into her. Slapping aside the last of the brush, he stumbled to a surprised stop when he found her just standing in the middle of the path, frozen stiff in shock. "What's wrong? What did you see-"

The fox stopped mid-sentence as he realized what it was that had so thoroughly shocked the bunny. Mere paces in front of them lay the ravaged corpse of a lion in the remnants of a Coastline uniform. He was pinned to a tree through the chest by what looked like some sort of spear.

"Holy shit…"

"That's disgusting…" Judy gasped, still partially in shock. When she was finally seemed to snap out of it, she took a cautious step towards the body. "What could've done this?"

Given the sketchy nature of his work, Nick had seen all kinds of gruesome scenes, some that didn't even involve Dante, but not even the worst managed to compare to what he was seeing now. A look of disbelief and pained shock had been etched into the lion's frozen muzzle and lifeless eyes. His armour and clothing practically cut to ribbons like newly sharpened claws going through a cotton shirt. Beneath the torn armour and all across the exposed fur was a grisly mosaic of claw and bite marks, blood still dripping from the wounds. Whatever had gotten this mercenary didn't so much kill him as it had taken the unlucky bastard apart.

"I have no idea." Nick finally answered, stepping past the bunny and leaning in to take a closer look. "I'm guessing this poor sucker was a forward scout. Probably was ambushed just like those other groups that patrol was talking about."

"I didn't know what to make of that story. If it was wild animals or maybe...something else..." Judy brushed a paw over one of the wounds. "It looks like some sort of predator took him apart. Maybe a mammal that went savage?"

"I'm not so sure," Nick started. "Since when do savage mammals pin their victims up like trophies?" He flicked the spear with a paw, the weapon briefly snapping back and forth. "Plus...there's something off about the tracks."

"What do you mean?"

"Take a look," the fox pointed out a flurry of track marks imprinted into the mud and soil. There was a set of paw prints on the ground that likely belonged to the lion, scattered in every direction as if the mammal had been frantically struggling with something. "Those belong to our unhappy camper here, but…" There was another set of prints mixed in with the felines. These ones were more curved with a hard edge to them, almost like they belonged to some sort of ungulate. "Unless everything Mrs. Marlowte begrudgingly taught me in third grade was a lie, those look like hoofprints."

"But...that doesn't make any sense…" Judy remarked, looking back and forth between the prints on the ground and the mangled body. "This lion's covered in claw marks and puncture wounds...as if a predator was biting and clawing at him. What kind of predator has hooves?"

"None that I've ever heard of." Nick bent down to look closer at the hoof prints. "Maybe a prey mammal pinned him to the tree and something else fed on him afterwards?"

"These wounds were defensive, Nick." Judy pointed to the excessive number of bite and claw marks on the front of the mammal's arms. "They were inflicted while the lion was still alive. And look at how he's pinned, that spear was planted _after_ he was dead." The body was angled in an awkward pose as if someone had propped it up first and then pinned the lion in place. "What kind of mammal would...or even _could _do something like this?"

"Not one I'd ever want to run into in a dark alley, that's for sure." Nick slowly started to stand up as the tension he was feeling intensified, his paw slowly drifting towards the gun in his holster. He had a hard time understanding the chills he was feeling before, but now, it was beginning to feel like something or _someone_...was watching them. He couldn't for the life of him figure out who would do that or why, all he know was that he felt dangerously exposed right now.

"Nick?" Judy's voice called out, breaking him out of his trance as her paw tugged at his. "You okay?"

Nick looked down at the reporter's paw and then at his own hovering over the holster, just short of grasping his gun. "It's nothing...I'm fine," he answered after a moment's hesitation, shaking his head. There was no need to worry the bunny just because he was starting to get tense. "Nerves just getting to me a little bit," he said, trying to convince himself as much as Judy. He finally stepped back from the mercenary corpse and back onto the path, motioning for the rabbit to follow. "Come on, think we've stayed here long enough. Let's get out of here before we run into whatever's been chewing on this guy."

Judy took one last look at the mangled lion before following after the fox. All these unanswered questions would have to wait. For now, Finn was the goal. They needed to find him before it was too late.

* * *

"Come on, Nick, pick up the pace," Judy pressed, beckoning for the fox to hurry. "It can't be much further, now."

"Moving as fast as I can, Carrots." Nick panted as he struggled to keep up with the bunny. He'd like to tell himself that he was trying to take it slow because of the last surprise and the sense of unease that was now permeating the jungle. And to a degree, that was even true. But more than that, this path was just getting way too steep and it was starting to wear the fox down. "Why the hell did they have to build this damn place so high up?"

"Don't wear yourself out thinking about the trek," the rabbit suggested. "Focus on looking forward to what's waiting for us once we get to the top."

"What, you mean the two psycho's and their merc army that'll most likely shoot both of us the second we show our faces? Yeah, that sounds like a hell of a thing to 'look forward to.'"

"Just quit your whining and keep pushing." The rabbit didn't even look back as she surged ahead. "We're almost at the crest of the hill, it should be a lot easier after that."

"Here's hoping," Nick grumbled as he forced himself forward, the crest of the hill getting steadily closer the higher he went. "Just...a bit...further."

As he finally hit the top, he saw Judy crouched down on one knee next to a tree, looking out at the horizon. From here, he could see that the hill was part of a ridge overlooking the jungle and path below. "Finally," he muttered as he crouched down next to the rabbit. "Could use a break."

"Don't relax just yet," the bunny smirked. "Check out where we are."

After taking a moment to catch his breath, he looked down and noticed not one, but two ancient stone roads connecting together. "Wait…the roads meet up?"

"Yup."

"Then that means…" Pulling out a set of binoculars from his satchel, Nick followed the road until he was staring at the site of a massive stone wall built into the mountains. Even from this far back, the barrier seemed to tower over the rest of the jungle like a grand monument to the ancient society it once protected. Despite the wall's size, the roofs of buildings could be made out just beyond, poking over the very top.

The stone was ancient and worn, but it also seemed to stand tall and solid despite the cracks that had formed in the foundations over time. There was a mix of granite grey and moss green as the stonework meshed with the brush now growing over it and pushing through the cracks, the fusion almost making it look like a natural part of the jungle. Built into the wall itself amongst the cracks and vegetation were ancient carvings depicting those strange white flowers that resembled night howlers alongside carvings of various parts of the island and its denizens. From small outposts and docks to the Nocturnal Fortress itself, and, of course, the very city that this wall acted as the bulwark to. The formidable structure was as much a layer of defence as it was a tribute to this long lost society and the mammals who had once lived there.

"I can't believe it," an awe-struck Nick said. "We finally found it."

There was no denying it now. After all the hardships and strife, they had finally made it. They had reached the forgotten city of Henosia. Even given the rather dire circumstances, Nick still couldn't help but feel a sensation of pride and accomplishment at what was undoubtedly his single greatest achievement to this point.

"Uhh...hate to kill the mood, but it looks like we've got a problem." Judy pointed towards the wall. "Check out that gate."

"Hmm?" Nick focused his gaze on the gate in question where the road passed through to the city proper. The area was lined with parked jeeps and armed mammals, most of whom were following the road as it passed through the gate and into the city itself. As he focused on the gate, he noticed the shattered remnants of two collapsed doors on either side, small traces of smoke still coming off of them.

"Looks like they blew the gate open. Guess that shouldn't be a surprise, subtlety isn't exactly Coatline's strong suit. Still, should be good if we just wait until they've all gone through, then we can make our-" Nick stopped short as he finally noticed something else about the gate. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me…"

Several jeeps with mammals sitting on the turrets were parked by the gate along with at least a dozen armed mammals either standing guard or patrolling the road, a pair of which seemed to be equipped with RPG's. As if that wasn't enough, there were two elephants and a giraffe holding position right at the entrance, all covered in a veritable wall of kevlar and metal plates, and each gripping a menacing GRLK heavy machine gun that probably weighed at least twice the fox and rabbit's combined weight.

"Where's the trust, you guys?" Nick sighed. Even one of those heavies was packing enough armour and firepower to embarrass the entire ZPD, but three of them, plus all those soldiers and MG's backing them up? Nick might as well have just taken his gun and blown his brains out right there and then, it'd at least make for a more efficient suicide. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Stripe 'n Scars _really _don't feel like sharing the city with us."

"There's no way we can fight our way through all of that," Judy observed, her eyes darting from one mercenary to the next as she searched for a weak point in the Coastline defences. "And we definitely can't slip through the gate, not with that many guards watching…"

"Yeah…" Nick's gaze followed the great wall blocking their entrance. "So waltzing through the front door is out. Guess we'll need to find another way in."

"Any ideas?"

"Maybe." The fox pointed off to the right at a heavily damaged section of the wall far from the gate. It looked out over an opening between two of the mountains that made up part of the raised valley. Looking through the gap, they see the ocean and jungle far below. "Check it out, that section of wall over there looks like it's just about had it. What do you wanna bet there's a breach or something we can use to bypass all those Coastline idiots?"

"You think so?" Judy furrowed her brow as she looked at the damaged section. "It's a bit of a gamble...What if Cackler and Dante posted guards to watch that side as well?"

"Carrots, this entire trip has been nothing _but _gambles," Nick pointed out. "I'm just suggesting the one that's most likely to pay out. Certainly makes for better odds than knocking on the front door."

"I guess they wouldn't have enough mammals to cover the whole city," Judy considered as she glanced back at the heavily guarded entrance. "And their main focus would probably be on finding that 'vault' Sir Francis mentioned."

"I'm going to just go ahead and take that as your tacit approval." Nick started moving back down the ridgeline to the path below. "Come on, time to move. Now that Coastline's gone and called 'dibs' on the city, this rescue's going to be even trickier to pull off."

The duo carefully followed the path towards the city, making sure to give the heavily guarded entrance a wide berth as they approached the great city walls. "Such a shame," Nick whispered with a smirk. "All that hard work they put into our welcoming party, just for us to go and slip in through the back door. Those guys will be so disappointed once they find out."

"Preferably _after _we've grabbed Finn and gotten out," Judy reminded the fox.

"Well, _yeah_, of course."

Even once they were certain they were out of earshot of mammals with even the sharpest sense of hearing, they still crept forward cautiously. As dumb as Coastline mercenaries could be, the leadership had at least somewhat of a clue what they were doing, and Nick wouldn't have put it past them to send off a patrol or two to check out the edges of the city just in case. That and the weirdly oppressive aura of the area combined with that nasty business with the dead lion was leaving him feeling very uneasy. There was an obnoxious voice in his head insisting that he and the bunny would suffer the same fate as that lion if they weren't careful, a voice he couldn't shake in spite of his best efforts.

"Nick!" Judy called out from up ahead. "Over here, you're not going to believe this!"

"Carrots...Coastline...quiet," Nick hissed at the rabbit.

"Sorry," Judy's ears drooped behind her head in mild embarrassment. "That being said, you're still going to want to see this."

"What is it?" As Nick caught up to the rabbit, he found her standing at the edge of a massive cliff overlooking the gap between the mountains. Down below, a wide inlet unfurled before them, carving a path through the jungle all the way out to the ocean. The way the sunlight reflected off the water caused the inlet to sparkle, but Nick and the bunny were far too focused on what was in the inlet itself to pay its natural beauty any mind.

"Woah…"

The waterway was littered with the wrecks of dozens of old ships, easily enough for an entire fleet. Even from this far up, they were able to pick out the rotten husks of centuries-old galleons and frigates still partially submerged in the depths of the inlet or washed up against the shore.

"Is…is that…?"

"It's the Blackhorn fleet…" Nick finished, still able to make out the empire's insignia on the tattered remnants of some of the ship banners. "They never left the island...I guess that would explain why word never got out about this place."

"But...what happened?" Judy questioned, turning to face Nick directly. "What could wipe out an entire fleet like that?"

"I have no idea," Nick said, recalling that account he had recovered from the remains one of Wilde's sailors. It wasn't completely out of the question to think that his ancestor might've found a way to destroy the Blackhorn fleet despite the odds. But something still didn't seem to add up. Wilde's focus seemed to be on the city, why would he waste what limited resources and mammalpower he had going after the fleet? With all the weird things that were going on, this revelation just left the treasure hunter feeling even more uncertain than ever. "Seems like the more we find, the more it feels like we never should've come here."

"Wow and that's coming from _you _of all mammals," Judy remarked, her expression initially on the smug side, only to shift to a more sober one the more she thought about it. "Why does that make me feel so nervous?"

The fox tried to shake off the tension with a shrug. "Probably because you're starting to wisen up." He turned around and started making his way back towards the wall surrounding the city. "And it's only going to get even more dangerous from here, Fluff. Cause if we have any hope of grabbing Gramps and getting out of here, then we're going to have to delve even deeper down this rabbit's hole." Nick took a few steps before freezing in place as the phrasing of his words finally caught up with him. He could already feel the heat rising beneath his collar as a wave of embarrassment washed over him."

"You just realized how that sounded, didn't you?" the rabbit deadpanned from behind in an unimpressed tone.

"Yup…" Nick awkwardly croaked out, feeling even warmer now. He was seriously starting to wonder what the point of having red fur even was, it certainly wasn't doing much to hide how much of an awkward idiot he felt like at the moment.

"Let's just get into the freaking city already," Judy sighed in annoyance, jabbing Nick in the side as she walked past him.

"Yup…" Nick repeated in an equally awkward tone as he followed behind her.

* * *

"You sure we'll find a way into the city in time?" Judy asked as she followed the fox along the edges of the wall. "I've yet to see any actual breaches we can reach."

"But we're still finding them, aren't we?" Nick responded. "We're bound to find a way in soon enough, just gotta have some faith."

"Hey, don't you give me the 'just gotta have faith' line. I already used that back at the ambush site, you get your own thing!"

"Hey, nobody owns any of these 'things'. You got to use it earlier, and I'm using it now." A wide grin formed on Nick's muzzle as he and the rabbit passed a corner. "And besides, I was totally right."

The duo found themselves standing before a massive breach in the wall. The gradual decay brought on by time and the elements had been too much for this part of the wall to take. A large chunk had collapsed outward, leaving a large hole atop a pile of rubble. The breach was too high for the two of them to reach on their own, but the rubble and stone left behind would make for a suitable enough climbing surface.

"Told you we'd find a way in."

"Okay, I really don't like how lucky you are," Judy grumbled. "Makes me nervous it'll end up running out at the worst possible time..."

"Hey, I'm not a one-trick-fox, Fluff, luck's only part of the equation. It's also just a lot of good old fashioned intuition." Nick nodded to the rabbit and begun climbing over the rubble. "Like figuring that a several thousand year old wall's bound to have at least some gaps big enough for a fox and bunny."

"And what about Finn?" Judy asked as she started climbing up after Nick. "He was in pretty rough shape the last time we saw him."

"Don't worry too much about Finn, they'd want him alive, and he knows how to tip the odds in his favour. Might have all the charm of a burning cactus, but he's got a sharp wit to balance it out," Nick assured the rabbit. "He'll tell those Coastline idiots _just _enough to convince them he's worth keeping around while still stringing them along until we can get to him."

"I hope you're right…"

"Yeah, well...too late to change your mind," Nick replied as he scaled up the last of the rubble and pulled himself on top of the wrecked wall. He reached back down and grabbed the bunny's paw, pulling her up next to him. Once they were both settled on top of the wall, they looked out at the city expanse that lay before them.

"So this is it…" the fox whistled. "This is Henosia…"

"I can hardly believe it," Judy whispered in awe. "I mean, after everything we've seen...even now that I'm standing here with you, I still have a hard time believing it's real. It almost feels like something out of a dream."

From atop the ruined wall, they could see nearly the whole city. Entire networks of roads and streetways seemed to spread outward like an intricate web around buildings, statues, and monuments of all shapes and sizes. The city was divided into sections not so different from the districts of Zootopia, with each having a distinct style and design meant to accommodate different types of mammal. Even the material the buildings were made of seemed to differ from one district to the next, with the warmer ecosystem districts being darker in colour, likely for increased heat absorption, while cooler districts were lighter and built into the shadows of the valley. Each district had a temple dedicated to whatever gods of old overlooked that particular ecosystem. They all looked to have been built from solid white marble with accompanying statues of the deity the temple was built for. The actual state of each temple seemed to vary from district to district. Some were majestic monuments, if a little worn, that stood in magnificent splendour over their district, while others were hollowed out shells, often with missing chunks that had either broken off or simply disappeared. Two districts didn't seem to have any temples at all, although Nick wouldn't have been surprised if they were either built for rodents or had simply collapsed into rubble.

"It certainly is something. Just wish we had time to really take it in," Nick noted, pulling out two pairs of binoculars and passing one to the reporter. "Here, let's figure out where Cackler and Dante would be taking Finn. I'm betting it'll be whatever building looks the most valuable."

"Sure thing," Judy nodded, taking her pair and looking out at the ruins.

As Nick did the same, he could see that the city was one of contrasts, of majestic beauty alongside ruin and decay. The mighty walls surrounding the city had been built to last, but the same couldn't be said for many of the buildings within. There was a mixed palette of stone and vegetation similar to that of the wall. It was difficult to tell how much of it was part of the original city design and how much was the result of the city's losing battle against the resurgent jungle. Plants and vines twisted through and enveloped many of the ancient structures, giving them an almost organic appearance, while others looked like they were being devoured by the jungle as the overgrowth slowly wore away at their foundations. The streets and roads themselves seemed to fare little better, cracked open with plant life breaking through, or being buried in piles of rubble from buildings that had collapsed long ago. What caught Nick's attention more than anything else though were the scattered piles of skeletal mammal remains. These were no doubt the long dead citizens of this ancient city. The cause of their deaths was unclear, but he seriously doubted they had all decided to just lay down and take a permanent dirt nap. Like so many other fallen civilizations, whatever fate had befallen the city and its people seemed to have been a violent one.

"Finally found some locals," Nick pointed out. "Or...what's left of them." As he continued surveying the city, he began to notice something off about it. The whole thing was on a slant, sloping downwards towards a bay at the north end. The city itself stood above the bay, but it looked like a sizable chunk of it had broken away and collapsed into the ocean, leaving the broken edge practically hanging by a thread over the bay with some of the buildings already having partially broken away and plunged over the edge already. Large sections of the northern half of the city had also become littered with sinkholes. Some of them were so massive that it almost looked like they were their own small districts built at lower elevations. Nick might've even had mistaken them for just that if not for the fact that a number of buildings had been quite literally split in half by these sinkholes. Others had given away into seemingly bottomless pits, taking whatever structures once stood there with them. How deep those sinkholes went and where it was they ended up, the fox could only guess. "Wow...given enough time, it looks like this whole city will eventually collapse into the ocean."

"And what about all those bodies?" Judy added. "The streets are littered with them. What could've happened to this place?"

"Nothing good, that's what," the fox answered thoughtfully. "Figured when they originally sealed the gates, it was to keep threats out, but what if they were actually trying to-"

"Ooh, over there," Judy interrupted, tapping at the fox and pointing out towards the center of the city. "I think I see something."

Derailed from his train of thought, Nick followed the rabbit's paw towards a massive temple. It looked similar to the ziggurat-like structure they had discovered back at the very start of this expedition, but on a much larger and more elaborate scale in keeping with the city. Intricate columns and statues of mammals aligned the entire structure with a set of decorated stairs leading up to the entrance. And, of course, those damn flowers again. They seemed to be everywhere, even carved into the mosaics on the temple wall. On top of all that, the building was far more intact than any of the structures surrounding it. There was an occasional hole in the wall, a collapsed column or statue, even a partially caved-in roof, but it still managed to stand out against the rest. A supposed beacon of stability amidst all the chaos and ruin that had engulfed so much of the rest of the city.

"Big, elaborate, fancy looking, and somehow still standing while everything around it seems to have gone to hell," the treasure hunter observed. "If that's not a big flashing neon sign shouting, 'Hey, Coastline! I've got all the good stuff! Come on in and loot me!' Then I don't know what is."

"Now we just gotta find Finn…" the rabbit continued. Her ears seemed to mirror the direction of her binoculars as she looked over the temple until they suddenly froze in place. "Wait, I see him!"

"What? Where?"

"Down at the staircase, look!"

As Nick focused on the stairs, he saw a large group of Coastline mercenaries heading up them towards the temple entrance. Looking over the group, he briefly saw a furious as ever Tanger slapping his cheetah partner across the face before shifting his focus to the very front of the pack where Dante and Cackler stood alongside a battered looking fennec fox that could only have been Finnick. "They've still got Gramps!" Nick exclaimed a little more excitedly than he intended. "I knew that stubborn old bastard would manage!"

The hyena seemed to be directing the group while Dante shoved the fox up the stairs, threatening him at gunpoint and motioning for the small vulpine to keep moving. Defiant as ever, Finnick turned around and bared his teeth at the zebra as he seemingly growled a response. Knowing the old fox, it was probably some sort of insinuation about the equine's mother. Dante seemed less than impressed by whatever it was since he promptly stuck a hind hoof in the desert fox's back, knocking him muzzle first into the stairs.

"Finn!" Judy gasped in worry.

"That son of a bitch…" Nick bitterly growled as he watched Finn pick himself up and begrudgingly start limping up the stairs. "We've got to get moving, now. Before those bastards decide he's outlived his usefulness."

"Just hold on a bit longer, Finn," the rabbit urged. "We'll get you out of there soon enough."

"Damn right we will." Nick nodded to the rabbit as he reached for his grappling hook, lodging it into a jagged scar in the wall and throwing the rope over the side. "What do you say we go and get our partner back?"

"Wait…'our' partner?"

"Yeah," Nick winked at the rabbit. "We're in this together, right?"

"Right." The rabbit nodded. "Sure thing, partner." She gave Nick a thumbs up as they both grabbed the rope and started climbing over the edge of the wall. As they glanced at the temple again, they both took a deep breath and then slid down the rope, beginning their descent into the city limits.


	19. Welcome to Henosia

_Author Note: Hey again all, I'm finally back with another chapter post! Told you I wasn't going anywhere! The time between posts will probably be closer to this from here on out, but hey, we're getting pretty close to the end so hopefully, it'll be worth the wait. In any case, you guys have been waiting longer than usual for this one, so here you go, enjoy!_

* * *

"So what are you gonna do?"

"Hmm?"

"Once we're off this island, what are you gonna do?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Whatever's in that vault Dante and Cackler are looking for has gotta be worth a fortune, right? That'll make for one hell of a payday."

"You seriously think we'll be getting off this island with any of that loot?"

"Bru, this is the blimming find of a lifetime. An entire city's worth of treasure that up until now was thought to be a freaking legend. Do you know how much collectors will pay for the kind of shit we'll be hauling in? Even if we just snag a few and as our 'finder's fee', it'll still be enough to set us up for life."

_Ugh, are those idiots still going at it? _

Nick was really starting to lose his patience. His and Judy's attempt to reach the central temple had been having...somewhat mixed results. Getting into a firefight was out of the question, so they'd been trying to find a more subtle approach, looking for any gaps in Coastline's defences, but it seemed like every damn path was being watched.

This road had initially shown some promise, only for the two of them to wind up nearly stumbling into this patrol. They only barely managed to dive into the nearest building before they could be noticed, but the only hiding spot within reach was a very tight opening within the rubble.

Now they were just stuck in an uncomfortably tight hole while they waited out the two mercenaries, a caracal and a grey wooled ram. They were safe for now, but the Coastline soldiers were standing right outside, leaving any movement whatsoever out of the question. Even worse, the damn morons decided that this would the perfect moment to sit around talking instead of doing their actual job and...patrolling. Normally Nick would've considered undutiful Coastline mercs a good thing, but not if it meant he and the bunny were just stuck in this damn hole practically crushing each other.

"Cheese and crackers, what is taking them so long?" Judy whispered. "I can barely breathe with your tail up in my face like this."

"Believe me, I'd move it if I could, Fluff," Nick whispered back. "Just hold on a little bit longer. They gotta get around to doing some actual patrolling sooner or later, right?"

_Gods, please it be sooner… _

"A 'finder's fee', seriously?" The caracal questioned skeptically. "You're out of your blimming mind, you haven't forgotten who we're working for, right? If the bosses find out we're skimping off the top, they'll flay both of us and make belts from our freaking hides!"

"They're going to be blasting their way in with explosives, mam. That's going leave a big mess to sort through," the ram insisted. "They'll have no way of knowing if a few pieces go missing."

"Explosives? Where the hell did you hear that? Nobody ever said anything about blasting open the vault."

"They haven't said anything, but I've seen it. There's a stockpile of the stuff set up at some old fountain a few blocks over. What else do you think they'd be using it for?" the prey mammal argued. "So come on, tell me, if this job pays out and we all make enough money to do whatever the hell we want, what would you do?"

"Fine," the feline sighed, rolling his eyes as he thought about the question. "'If'- and big 'if', mind you- I had the money...I'd head straight for the Angkor Islands and just party every day. Buddy of mine said booze and females there are outta this world."

The ungulate just scoffed at that. "No blimmin' imagination…"

"Oh yeah? And what would you do?"

"Gonna get a place in Zootopia," the ram answered. "I'm thinking something in Tundratown would do nicely."

"Tundratown? Okay, now I _know _you're out of your mind."

"What?" the sheep asked defensively.

"You have any idea how cold that place is? They blast it non-stop with what's basically a giant-ass freezer. We've been working in nothing but savannas and jungles our whole blimmin' lives, you wouldn't last a day in a place like that. When was the last time you even let your wool fill out?"

"I can let it fill out some," the ram snapped. "And if that ain't enough, I'll...just...get some fur coats or something to wear. I'll have the cash to spare."

"Right, the only Southern Savanna ram in Tundratown wrapped up in a bunch of fur coats," the predator rolled his eyes. "You'll look like a damn moron. Only a domkop like you would ever come up with something that stupid."

"You know what-" the ungulate started, angrily raising a hoof to the feline. But then he decided better, just shaking his head and abandoning the argument. "Forget it, let's just get going…"

"Why'd you even bring it up?"

"I _said_, forget it!" the ram snapped as he started walking. "Come on, we'd better get back to the damn patrol. I mean, gods forbid you _ever_ do something to upset the bosses, right?"

"Whatever, mam…" The caracal shrugged dismissively as he followed his partner.

Once they were finally out of earshot, Nick pulled himself out from beneath the gap in the rubble and stretched out his limbs, feeling his joints pop.

"Finally," he groaned. "Was wondering if those idiots were ever going to leave."

"You're telling me," Judy said as she started stretching. "Between being flattened in that hole and nearly suffocated by your fur for the last 10 minutes, I was about to lose my mind. And what the heck is that smell, anyway? Do you put cologne in your fur or something?"

"You are vastly overestimating the strength of any cologne I could ever afford if you think it'd have lasted through all the shit we've been through since we got here," Nick chuckled, giving the rabbit a wink. "No, that's just good old-fashioned fox musk. You can go ahead and just admit how much you love it, it's not like you'd be fooling anyone."

"Save the desperate flirting until we're out of this mess, Slick," Judy sighed. "We're still no closer to finding a way into that temple."

"No kidding…" Nick grumbled. "There's too many Coastline idiots and they've got all the approaches covered. There's no way we'll make it inside at this rate, not without getting into a shootout with half the mammals on the island.

"Even trying to take them out quietly would be too risky. If a single shot went off, we'd be done for. Unless…" Judy's foot began tapping rapidly as she thoughtfully stroked an ear. "Wait a minute, didn't one of them mention they were using explosives?"

"Yeah...they did," Nick nodded, his brow raising in interest. "And an explosive going off in the city would probably attract a lot of attention...They said something about it being stored by an old fountain, right?"

"Right." Judy pointed at a nearby roof. "Think you can boost me up? The mercs said it was close by, so I might be able to see it from up there."

"Sure thing, Fluff. One fox express to the roof coming right up." Nick knelt down next to the wall and cupped his paws. The rabbit wasted no time charging forward and springing off the paws as the fox thrust upward, launching her high enough to reach the roof and clamber over.

"See anything up there?"

"Just give me a sec," the doe responded, her ears poking out from over the roof's edge. "There, just a few blocks to the south." She leaped back down and headed in that direction. "Come on, this way."

They carefully made their way through the ruins, stepping through hollowed out shells of old overgrown buildings and over piles of rubble and shattered stone. All the while, they kept a watchful eye lest any enemies get the jump on them, be it Coastline or something else...

It didn't take long for them to find the actual fountain in the center of a ruined city square. Knowing that there would be guards nearby, the two of them looked for cover. Spotting a collapsed column that would be suitable enough, they quickly crouched down behind it.

"Hold tight, I'm going to take a look." Nick poked his head out from behind the pillar to get a better look at the fountain. It was certainly large, sporting a tall spout at the center consisting of four mammals holding their hooves and paws upward as if they were accepting a gift from above. The white marble made it almost shine in the sunlight, but the base was heavily chipped and cracked with several gaping breaches. Any water that fountain had once held was long gone by now.

The Coastline mercenaries themselves had set up a small post right next to the fountain. Several of them were standing on guard while the rest were bent over a folding table, conversing with each other as they stared at something on the table, although Nick couldn't tell what. Close by and piled right on the fountain's cracked base were several stacks of C4.

"What do you see?"

"See the bombs," Nick answered. "And they're right next to the damn mercs." He was suddenly startled by a pair of black-tipped ears brushing against his muzzle as the bunny stuck her head out to get a better look.

"What are they doing?"

"Don't know," Nick pushed Judy's ears down and narrowed his gaze, noticing that the mercenaries over at the table were dressed differently than the others. A variety of distinct tools and surveying equipment were hanging off their belts and pants, suggesting that Coastline had actually brought along something other than just soldiers. "Looks like they've got some sort of engineers...or…whatever passes for an engineer in Coastline, anyways," he snickered. "Probably the only ones that can count past ten."

"Gee thanks, Nick," Judy groaned with a roll of her eyes. "Super helpful."

"What? They're probably trying to figure out a way to blast through to the vault without blowing themselves up. Seems pretty straightforward."

"Then why would they be out here in the city instead of in the temple with Dante and Cackler?" Judy questioned. "That's where they think the vault is, right?"

"Probably want to keep the explosives out of the way until they're ready to use 'em," Nick suggested.

"Maybe," Judy pondered. "Either way, it's the guards watching them and the C4 that are going to be a problem…"

"Yeah...going to be tricky to reach those charges," Nick answered crouching back behind the column. "Not impossible though."

"That fountain looked pretty worn down, though," the rabbit noted.

"Worn down? How does that…" Nick started, confused at why that was even relevant. "Whatever, doesn't matter. Here's what we're gonna do." He poked his head back out again to get a better look. "We can't just slip in and grab that C4, not without them noticing. So I'm thinking one of us should draw them out."

He pointed towards a building on the opposite end of the city square. "I'll circle around and make some noise over on that end, bound to be some rubble or something that'll make a nice loud crash if I knock 'em loose. That should get most of them running and the rest distracted enough. That's when you slip in, grab the C4, and then we'll meet up a couple streets over once I've lost them. Oh and be sure to grab a detonator too, otherwise the charge will be useless."

The treasure hunter took a deep breath as he readied himself. "Whatever you do, stay focused and move quietly, we only get one shot at this and if we screw up, well...I'd prefer to go down fighting, at least that way, that smug asshole Dante won't get the pleasure of being able to rub his victory in our faces before he kills us. Anyways, ready Carrots?" He looked over at the rabbit only to find an empty space.

"...Carrots?"

He glanced back at the path they had taken. "Carrots?" Not seeing her, he glanced over at the mercenaries, seeing none of them had moved from their positions. "Where the hell did she go?"

"Hey."

Turning to the voice, Nick nearly jumped at the sight of the rabbit back and crouched down as if she'd never even moved. "Shit, what the hell, Carrots? Where did you go?"

"Yeah…your plan for the bombs was sounding way too complicated and...stupid, so I decided to just go and grab it for you." She held out a pack of C4 in one paw and a weird looking detonator in the other.

The fox stared in bewilderment at the bunny. "How...how did you?" He peered back over at the mercenaries, still in the same spot and seemingly unaware that anything was amiss. "I didn't even see you move-" He stopped as he noticed the disturbed soil right next to the stack of C4 and a recently dug hole at the base of the fountain along with a shift in some of the marble stone that made up the fountain's cracked base.

"A foundation that weak can be burrowed through pretty easily if you know what you're doing," Judy stated, sporting a cocky smirk. "And we bunnies make for pretty good burrowers."

"No kidding…" Nick uttered as he limply plucked the C4 and detonator out of the reporter's paws. The bunny was...frankly quite incredible. Even after everything that'd happened, she was still finding new ways to astound him. But then again, they'd only known each other for a week, which meant she probably had a _lot _more surprises...

"Uhh...time for that other part of your plan, Slick?"

"Hmm?" Nick shook his head as he was snapped out of his stupor. "Right, the whole diversion thing. Follow me, then." Checking one last time to make sure none of the mercenaries would notice them, he carefully crept back into the street with Judy. "Saw something a bit earlier that should do the trick."

* * *

"You've gotta be kidding me…"

"As tempting as it is to mess with you, Carrots, I'm dead serious this time."

"This?" Judy nearly shouted in disbelief, pointing up at the statue. "This is your idea of a good diversion? Blowing up a priceless relic of this city's history?!"

As the fox and rabbit had made their way into the city, they had passed through what they guessed was probably the desert district. The area was full of sand that sure as hell didn't get there on its own, and the dark shade of sandstone was likely meant to simulate warmer living conditions. They hadn't given the district or its temple much thought when they first passed through, but then, that was before they needed a good diversion.

Like the other district temples, it was made from marble and had an accompanying statue of whatever ancient god had held lordship over the deserts. Despite how tall the statue stood, it was one of the few that hadn't fared so well over the years. It had suffered heavy damage, with a full arm and part of a foot missing. The monument depicted some sort of canid from what Nick could tell, probably a jackal if he were to make an educated guess- and it was just what they needed, current bunny objections notwithstanding.

"It's weak enough that a single charge will do the trick and big enough that when it goes down, every single Coastline merc in the city is going to notice," Nick said. "It's exactly what we need."

"You're talking about destroying a piece of history, it's insane!" the rabbit objected. "Let's just set the C4 off in the middle of the street or something. The blast should be enough to draw Coastline's attention. What you're suggesting is complete overkill."

"No, it's not." Nick disagreed. "Take this from someone who has, admittedly, blown up way more shit in his life than he probably ever should've. A single blast is nothing to these guys. It'll probably, at the very most, draw a patrol, maybe two if we're lucky. If we're going to make a diversion big enough to give us a shot at the temple and Finn, then we gotta go big and we gotta go loud."

The fox pointed firmly at the statue. "_This _is our only way in that doesn't involve taking on every last mercenary in the damn city. You need to get your head into the game, Fluff. These guys are playing for keeps, and if we're to have any chance of pulling this off, then we've got to as well."

Judy looked at the statue, the conflict raging within clear as day. She had come on this expedition in the first place to learn and discover, to uncover the lost and forgotten history of mammalkind. She sure as hell hadn't expected so much of it to end up breaking or blowing up while she was here. But she also was a cop, or rather..._used _to be a cop, it just wasn't in her to let a mammal in need perish, especially not for the sake of a statue. "You're certain there isn't another way?" she finally asked, her eyes locked onto the treasure hunter's with intent.

"Not with what we're up against," Nick answered. "So what's it going to be? Save some dumb old statue that's probably gonna collapse on its own in a few years? Or save that grumpy old yet inexplicably charming bastard we came here for?"

The rabbit shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "We take down the statue."

"Thank the gods," Nick sighed in relief. "Would've _really _been awkward if you said 'no' seeing as I was going to do it either way." He took the charge and attached it to the back of the statue's leg, the blast would be more than enough to cause the entire thing to fall over, assuming it didn't just shatter completely given how fragile it looked at this point. Glancing back, he saw the bunny glaring darkly at him. "What? I told you we had no other options, I wasn't going to let your disapproval stop me from doing whatever it took to save Finn."

"You are seriously overdue for another kick to the face," the rabbit said as she turned around and started heading towards the city center. "We'll need a good vantage point that isn't too close, right? I think I saw something we could use over this way."

As Nick finished setting the charge and followed her, he felt another chill that he quickly shrugged off. At this point, he wasn't sure if it was that same strange sensation he had been feeling earlier, or if he was just dreading the prospect of yet _another_ bunny kick.

_Really hoping nothing comes of either of those..._

* * *

"Yeah, this'll work," Nick said, perched on the building rooftop. It wasn't so close to the central temple that they'd have to worry about being seen and it was also high enough to give a good view of the surrounding area. They'd have no trouble keeping track of the mercenaries once they set off their little surprise. "Bit more of a climb than I was expecting."

"What? You wanted a good vantage point. This is a good vantage point."

"I did...I did." Nick blinked, not quite sure how to respond. "It's just...that...we're going to need to move pretty fast once we set this off. I mean that statue won't keep them distracted forever, right?" He leaned over, staring at the cracked and overgrown street down below. "But… I guess we can just use the grappling hook to scale down. Should be nice and quick... assuming we don't break anything."

"You were the one who said this whole trip has been nothing but gambles," the doe pointed out. "What's one more?"

"Can't argue with that logic…" The treasure hunter reached for the detonator and armed it. "We'll only have a small window to get to the temple once we set this thing off, so we gotta move as soon as the way is clear. You ready?"

"Nick…"

"Right, right, don't waste time asking questions I already know the answer to. Straight to blowing shit up, then." He flicked the switch down and activated the detonator, crouching down alongside the bunny as he braced himself for the explosion.

But nothing happened…

"Hmm?" He hit the switch on the detonator again.

Still nothing…

"Uhhh…"

"What are you doing? Blow it already!"

"I'm trying, Carrots." Nick growled frustratedly, flicking the switch again. "The stupid thing won't take."

"Please tell me you didn't screw up when you set the bomb."

"Don't question my bomb setting skills, I am exceptionally skilled at blowing shit up," the fox snapped back. "It's Coastline's fault with their stupid, weird-ass detonators. I mean look at this backwards-ass thing, the switch flips both ways. I knew those 'engineers' of theirs were idiots, I mean what kind of morons use a detonator like thi-"

_*KA-BOOM!* _

Nick flinched at the sound of the blast and crumbling stone. Looking up from the detonator, he witnessed the statue of the ancient desert god break apart and collapse. As the rubble crashed against the ground, a massive cloud of dust was thrown high into the air.

"You were pushing it the wrong way, weren't you?" Judy asked, her arms folded as she fixed the fox with a disapproving glare.

The vulpine glanced down at the detonator. During his venting, he had pushed the switch in the other direction, evidently the correct one for setting off the bomb. "Well...d...don't look at me like that," he stammered, trying yet again to hide his embarrassment. "That's just bad design! I mean, come on, a detonator switch should only flip one way, these guys must've been going real cheap with their gear. Like I said, idiot engineers."

To be fair, it did make for a fairly poor detonator design. It still didn't seem to do much to sway the bunny though, given the unimpressed look still plastered on her face. Nick struggled to think of an appropriate excuse until he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye.

"Uhh...hey look!" Nick seized on the moment, pointing down at the streets where groups of mercenaries were rushing towards the site of the explosion. "They're on the move, the diversion worked! Guess that means we gotta make a break for it. No time to dwell any detonator mishaps, gotta get to that temple before they realize what we're up to, right? No more chatting, gotta go, go, go!" Nick didn't even give Judy a chance to respond as he blew past her, jamming his grappling hook into the roof and throwing the rope over the edge.

"You're so lucky Finn's on the chopping block, or I'd be having a field day with you right now," Judy grumbled as she made her way to the edge of the roof.

"Thank the gods for small miracles," Nick hurriedly responded as he dropped over the edge and began sliding down the rope. "Too bad, gonna have to wait till la-Ahhhhh! Rope burn, rope burn, rope burn!" the fox's retorts turning to pained whining as the friction of the rope burned his paws all the way down.

"Yeow, stupid rope. Having to rush this crap sucks!" he fussed as he blew on his paws in a vain attempt to soothe them, stepping out of the way as Judy landed in the same spot.

"Eek, eek, ow, ow," Judy winced as she tried brushing her paws against her legs in an equally vain attempt to soothe her own paws. "I mean, it still beats having to fight Coastline...but that rope burn seriously hurts. It feels like my paws are on fire."

"Yeah, well here's to hoping that rope burn is the worst thing to happen to us from here on out." Nick tugged the hook free of the building, gathering it and the rope back up and attaching them to his belt. "Now come on, we've got a temple to raid!" He quickly started moving through the vacant city streets towards the central temple.

As they approached the massive temple, they came across a partially collapsed archway crossing over one of the adjacent streets. Unwilling to just charge right in, they placed their backs against the archway wall and knelt down low. "Yeesh, I knew this place was big, but seeing it from this close, it's just insane. Looks like the city planners were playing favourites."

It may not have been the largest building in the city, but the temple still made for an imposing sight, standing at least 15 stories tall, if not more. It projected an aura that felt so different from everything else they had seen. Even the most majestic of the other sites they had been to had still felt abandoned, the entropic decay of time having thoroughly worn most of them down. This massive temple was by no means in pristine condition, having suffered its own share of wear and tear, but it still seemed in far better condition than anything else they had seen. In fact, it almost looked like it was still being inhabited, as ridiculous as that sounded.

And then there were the chills. That strange sense of unease and paranoia that had been keeping Nick on edge ever since they started up that path towards the city. He had been too focused on finding a way to reach this temple to pay it much attention before, but now that he was here, he realized that sensation had only gotten stronger the closer they got. If he didn't know better, he would've thought that the temple itself was the source.

_Calm down, Nick. You're just on edge. You've got a small army between you and Gramps so of course you'd be tense...Shit, don't know how much better that is than just being paranoid. _

"Nick, focus!" Judy snapped her fingers in front of the treasure hunter's face. "We don't have much time."

"Oh...right, right," Nick blinked. "Won't be much longer before those patrols come back. Let's see what we're dealing with then." Nick and Judy both peeked out from behind the archway to get a better look at the temple itself. There was a group of five armed mammals standing on guard halfway up the entrance stairway and another similarly sized group right at the main doorway itself.

"Great...looks like they've got the entrance covered," Judy said in a disappointed tone, her ears flopping against her back.

"Yeah, no surprises there," Nick nodded. "Would have to be on a whole other level of stupid to just leave the front door wide open. Still, with those patrols and perimeter guards gone, this is the best chance we're going to get at breaking in."

"Still too many to go through the front," Judy observed. "But, they're only watching the entrance, there's nobody guarding the perimeter."

"Yeah, you're right," Nick stroked his muzzle as he looked at the mostly deserted temple grounds. As he began to examine the intricate carvings and displays built into the temple wall, an idea started to form in his head. "I bet we could climb up the side of the wall. We'd probably be able to scale our way up and either drop in from the roof or find another opening."

"Ugh, more climbing..." the doe sighed. "But...if it's for Finn." She sounded annoyed at the idea, annoyed...but also determined.

"Yup...for Finn," Nick replied, the determination in his voice echoing Judy's own. "Okay then, best get moving before somebody sees us."

The two of them approached the temple from one of the unguarded sides and started making their way up the wall. Thanks to the temple's elaborate design and intricate carvings, there were plenty of edges and pawholds to grab onto without too much trouble. Within minutes, they were already more than half-way up the temple.

"Getting pretty close to the top, you alright, Fluff?" Nick called down as he steadied himself on a narrow ledge and leaped up to a pawhold too high to reach without jumping.

"Fine," Judy answered from just below. "Why do you ask?"

"Just that it took a bit of a leap to reach this next part," Nick explained, looking back down at the rabbit. "Need me to lend a paw? You might be too short for it."

"I scaled up solid ice walls back at the academy, I think I can handle a small jump," Judy responded, steadying herself on the same narrow ledge before springing up to the pawhold. "Just focus on finding us a way in, I don't like how exposed we are up here."

"Don't worry, we hardly stand out against the temple this high up," the fox assured. "If those Coastline morons suspect that diversion was ours, they'd probably assume any break-in attempt would be through the front door."

"See that's the thing, 'probably' doesn't really fill me with much confidence. It only takes one of them to look up, and then all the luck and quips in the world won't be able to help us."

"Alright, alright, fair point. Still, you don't want to be too tense. Stress really doesn't help with climbing, I find. More likely to make mistakes and wind up fa-" The fox's ears reflexively perked up as he made out the sound of mammal voices just above them. Fur standing on end and tail pressing instinctively against the side of the structure, he looked down at Judy and motioned for silence.

The rabbit obliged and stopped moving. She stared up at her partner, the look on her face silently asking what was happening.

"Coastline," Nick mouthed, jabbing his thumb upward. He angled his ears as he tried to get a better read of what the mammals were saying.

"One hell of a blimming view from up here, don't ya think?" One mammal asked.

"Maybe? I don't know, can't really take it in anymore since all I can think about now is how this is the fifth time you've asked me that damned question," a second mammal answered in an annoyed tone. "Seriously, mam, you bored or something?"

"Just trying to make conversation, eish. No need to be an ass about it."

"Oh 'conversation', is it? Here's a tip then, don't ask the same blimmin' question five times in a damn row."

"Fine," there was an awkwardly long silence before the mercenary spoke up again. "So...ever see anything like this before?" It seemed this mammal was of the opinion that if the atmosphere was going to be an awkward one, then it may as well be one with actual conversation.

Nick vaguely heard the sound of an annoyed sigh before the second mercenary answered. "Nah, raided some villages, overthrew a government or two, but nothing like this. This type of shit's way beyond my line of work." Evidently, the other merc felt the same way on the matter.

"Two," Nick mouthed, holding up a pair of fingers for the rabbit to see.

The rabbit nodded in understanding. "What do we do?" She mouthed.

Nick pointed at the doe, and then at himself, motioning for her to follow him carefully. He wasn't exactly sure how much of that she understood though. In retrospect, he probably should've made sure she understood sign language. He also probably should've learned the real thing instead of just inventing his own with Finn. There were a lot of things he probably should've done differently in hindsight...

_Well, if she didn't get any of that and this goes to hell, at least we'll be dead before she can tear me a new one. _

Nick carefully climbed up, pressing himself as close to the wall as possible as he tried to get closer to the mercs without giving himself away. Judy followed as they kept moving until they could finally see the two mammals in question, both oryxes standing on a small balcony with an overlook protruding from the temple. If not for the two mercenaries blocking the way and chatting up a storm, it'd be the perfect way in.

_Again with idiots more interested in shooting the breeze than actually doing their job. Does anybody ever do any actual work in this chickenshit outfit?_

"There's an entrance up ahead," Nick whispered, turning to look down at the rabbit.

"Any way past them?" she whispered back.

Nick looked around for a viable option, but the balcony and the passage it was covering were too small. There was no way they'd be able to simply bypass the mercenaries. Still, trying to get past two guards who weren't really paying attention sure as hell beat trying to get past the ones down at ground level.

He looked back down at the reporter, pointing up and shaking his head, then pointing inwards, indicating they'd have to go through them.

"Then what now?" Judy whispered.

Nick motioned for her to follow and started slowly making his way up until he was just below the balcony, forming a strategy as he went. Or at least...a semblance of one…It was a good thing the antelopes were too focused on their own conversation to notice the two of them yet.

"The hell we even doing up here anyway?" One of the mercs was asking. "Rich Boy and Cackler've got everyone else tearing apart the tunnels underneath this place, seems like a waste of time having us wandering around all the way up here."

"Well, we ain't getting paid to think, just to shoot," the other oryx argued. "So shut up and keep your eyes open, you don't want to wind up like that poor bastard, Kloue."

"Wait, Kloue? What happened to him?"

"Didn't hear? Went missing a few hours ago. Galba and his boys finally found him and his patrol in the jungles outside the city. Or...what was left of 'em, anyway."

"The hell does that mean?"

"Found the poor bastard split wide open, waist to neck. Galba painted me one hell of a disturbing scene. And apparently his pals didn't fare much better."

_More dead mercs? Sounds like that lion we found was one of the luckier ones...relatively speaking... _

"Eish, never figured Wilde was so bloodthirsty," the other mercenary responded. Nick couldn't see it, but he imagined the oryx shuddering.

The other oryx chuckled at the remark.

"The hell you think is so funny about that?" he responded in an offended tone.

"Nothing, bru," the other merc chuckled again. "Just cute that you think that would be Wilde's work."

"Well he's the competition ain't he? Who the hell else could it be?"

"If you seriously think a fox could do that to a godsdamn hippo, then...well...it's a good thing you're only paid to shoot."

"Hey, screw you!"

"Ah, don't worry about it, mam. We can't all be geniuses."

As much as Nick would've loved to unpack the implications of what those two were talking about, it'd have to wait since Judy had finally managed to climb up next to him. Unsurprisingly, she seemed far more focused on the immediate task at paw, and honestly, he should've been as well. Mystery solving really was best saved for moments when they weren't at risk of getting shot in the face, plummeting to their deaths, or both.

Observing the oryxes, Nick saw that they were both carrying rifles, the left one gripping it in his hooves and the right one having it slung over his back. The fox poked Judy and flashed her signs of what he planned to do, waving and fluttering his paw as he made gestures he was hoping she would understand.

The blank look on her face suggested that she didn't.

_Okay, should've seen that coming. _Nick internally sighed. _This is what I get for not bothering to learn the real thing. _

"I'll take the left one," he quietly mouthed to the rabbit, pointing at himself and then at the mercenary directly above him. "You get the other." He pointed at her and then the other mercenary to emphasize the point.

The reporter seemed to understand this time, giving a nod and bracing herself, her paws gripping the ledges firmly and feet trembling as she seemingly prepared to leap upwards for a surprise attack.

"On my move," Nick whispered.

The fox took a deep breath as he readied himself and focused on his target. Prepared as he was ever going to be, he sprung into action, pulling himself up to the balcony's stone guardrail and grabbing the rifle in the mercenary's hooves, shoving it straight into the surprised mammal's face with a hard crack. The oryx's head snapped back in a daze and he began to let out a pained grunt, only for it to turn to a surprised yelp as Nick grabbed him and pulled as hard as he could, sending the mammal doubling over the guardrail and off the balcony.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the other oryx fumbled for the rifle on his back just as Judy pushed off the ledge and flew straight upward, plowing a fist into the mercenary's muzzle. Grabbing for one of the mammal's horns, the rabbit flipped herself behind him and grabbed his rifle strap. As the mercenary flailed and tried to shake her off, she planted her feet firmly into his back and pushed off hard, sending the mammal forward with enough force to break right through the guardrail and go flying off the balcony with a panicked scream.

"Holy shit," Nick gulped, grasping what was left of the now broken guardrail as he pulled himself onto the balcony, resisting the urge to look down at the plummeting mammals as he did. "That was one hell of a kick."

"I know, right," Judy beamed. "Sent him right through the railings. I guess I really don't know my own strength sometimes."

"Yeah," Nick started. "Or _maybe_, crazy idea, a several thousand year old guardrail might not be the most sturdy thing in the world."

"Hey, I'm strong!" Judy objected. "I'll have you know I knocked out a rhino once back at the academy."

"Ease up, Carrots, no need to get so defensive, it was still a cool move," Nick complimented, patting the bunny on the back. "Plus, with the broken guardrail, it'll look like they just fell. You know how it is, unstable old ruins, accidents are bound to happen."

"No kidding. I've probably been in more near-fatal accidents in the last week alone than the rest of my life combined, and that includes my time as a cop," Judy replied.

"All two days of it?"

"Nick!" the bunny glared.

"Right, sorry," Nick raised his paws defensively. "Can't help myself sometimes, I may actually have a chronic addiction to sticking my foot in my mouth. Please don't give me another ass whooping, it's a serious condition! Besides, it probably won't be long before Coastline notices and sends somebody to check out what happened."

"Alright, fine," Judy glowered. "You're safe...for now," she walked past the fox and through the balcony's arched opening.

"I mean...we _are_ surrounded by mammals trying to kill us…" Nick pointed out as he followed her inside. He was expecting that his eyes would have to adjust to the darkness, but the inside was far better lit than he had expected.

"Where do we go from here?" Judy asked.

"Well, they said Cackler and Dante were down in the underground levels," Nick suggested. "So I'm guessing that's where Gramps will be as well."

"Along with a small army of Coastline mercenaries…" Judy said.

"Yeah...Not really looking forward to that part." As Nick looked around, he saw that the hall they entered had multiple doorways, each seeming to lead to a different passage. "Assuming we ever manage to figure out where the hell we're supposed to go."

As Nick scanned the walls, he looked closely at the symbols carved into them, most of which were in pretty good condition despite their age. Some he could tell were meant to depict aspects and elements of different ecosystems, from scorching deserts to lush jungle to rolling grasslands and even frozen tundra. Others seemed more abstract and difficult to discern, they were likely whatever ancient language this civilization used if Nick had to guess. He had learned his fair share of ancient scripts over the years and he could even see bits and pieces of other languages in some of the symbols, but not enough to really make sense of what they said.

"Over here," Judy called out, a flash of light briefly blinding the fox and disrupting his focus.

"Ack, watch it!" Nick cried out as he covered his eyes. "Nocturnal mammal over here!"

"Sorry!"

"Where did you get that, anyway?" he asked, eyes still squinting from the light.

"From that jeep you dropped off the waterfall," the bunny answered with a shrug. She then pointed towards the doorway she had been looking at. "But seriously, check this out."

Once his eyes finally stopped hurting, Nick peered into the passageway and saw that it was a long stairway leading downward. The walls on each side were lined with those strange symbols along with more of the mysterious flowers the mammals of Henosia seemed to hold in such high regard. There were also depictions of what the fox assumed were the mammals themselves, but he couldn't tell what kind. He couldn't even tell if they were meant to be prey or predator, the way they were carved almost made it look like they had aspects of both. As he glanced further down the stairway, he was surprised to find that he couldn't see the bottom. "Well, that certainly looks ominous."

"But it leads down," Judy pointed out. "That should be enough for us, right?"

"But we have no idea what's down there," Nick said. "Traps, a dead end, an entire army of Coastline, clowns, we could run into anything."

"If you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it," Judy said. "Because right now, all we've got is 'stand around staring at passageways until Coastline finds and kills us.'"

Nick let out a sigh. This damn temple was way too big and he didn't like the idea of just picking a random passageway and walking, but it wasn't like he had any better ideas. Plus, this place was probably just as difficult for Coastline to navigate as it was for them, so at least they were on equal ground in that respect. "Alright, Fluff. Lead the way."

"Don't mind if I do," Judy smirked. Lighting up the stairway, she led the fox downwards, the two of them proceeding into the temple depths.


	20. Lighting the Way

_Author Note: Hey everyone! Time for yet another chapter update bringing us one step closer to the finish line! Don't really have much else to say at the moment, so hope you guys enjoy it._

* * *

"Anything yet?"

"Nope."

"...How about now?"

"Still nothing…"

"...Anything no-"

"Okay, you know what, Nick? How about I just _tell _you if I hear anything?" Judy groaned in annoyance. "Will that get you to stop constantly badgering me?"

"Fine," Nick sighed. He was still feeling pretty on edge about possibly running into either Coastline or something worse, but he also knew he really should trust the reporter. She understood the stakes and if she heard something coming, she'd let him know. Plus, if he didn't stop she'd probably go back on her earlier promise and give his tail a proper whooping.

The two of them had followed the stairway down into the temple depths. Despite being underground, the area was still surprisingly well lit thanks to narrow openings in the ceiling that allowed light to shine through. Judy still kept her flashlight on paw just in case, but Nick had no trouble seeing where he was going.

Unfortunately, the underground pathways were just as complex and labyrinthine as the previous ones up above. With time already being against them, they had split up to check the different paths, seeing if any of them looked promising. Of course, they made sure to remain in earshot just in case anything went wrong, something the reporter had been starting to regret.

"So...do you see anything now?" the fox called out. Still not feeling quite confident enough to completely lay off.

"No," the rabbit shouted in annoyance. "Wait…I mean yes, over here!" Judy's tone became alarmed. "You'll definitely want to see this."

"Coming," Nick called out, following the rabbit's voice...in theory. "Uhh...which way did you go again?"

"Over here," Judy called out from the opposite direction Nick was heading, much to his confusion.

"Crap," he muttered, turning around and heading the other way. "Sorry, where was that again?"

"Over here," Judy repeated.

Nick followed what he thought was the right path, only to again find an empty hall. "Where?" he called out.

"I said over here!" Judy called out again, her voice even further away somehow.

"Godsdammit!"

"Seriously, Nick, what the heck are you doing? We don't have time for your games."

"I'm not playing any damn games, Fluff, this place is a freaking pain in the ass to figure out," the treasure hunter growled. "I'm starting to think they designed the acoustics down here to screw with any mammals who don't know where they're going."

"Then use your nose, genius!"

"Nose?" Nick sniffed at the air, picking up traces of the rabbit. "Oh, right. Why didn't I think of that?" He closed his eyes and focused on the scent, following it through the winding passages.

"I got it," Nick said. "Just a bit fur-ack!" Nick felt a burst of pain as his muzzle collided with the wall and he bounced backwards. "Ow…" he muttered, shaking his head as the pain gradually subsided.

"Were you following the scent with your eyes closed?" Judy asked, her voice at least sounding closer than before.

"No…" the fox denied, obviously not fooling anyone. "...Yes."

"Crazy idea, but maybe watch where you're going and hurry it up," the rabbit deadpanned. "I seriously don't understand why you canid's all do that with your eyes closed."

"It helps us visualize where to go, okay?" Nick said as he turned one last corner and finally met back up with the reporter. "Now what was it that's got you so worked up -oh…," the fox was shocked into silence upon seeing what had grabbed Judy's attention. "Wow…"

The hallway was scattered with the bones of what was easily a dozen mammals. Tattered armour and clothing were draped over their remains with weapons still gripped in their skeletal paws and hooves. The scene wasn't too dissimilar from the massacre they had stumbled upon in the very first temple at the start of this crazy journey.

"That's...a lot of skeletons," Nick said.

"No kidding...must've been a brutal fight," Judy bent down and pawed over the skeleton of a mustelid, pulling a piece of the dead mammal's armour free. "Check it out." Judy held up the piece for Nick to see, a familiar looking symbol emblazoned on the piece. A set of horns jutting out of a crown with a sword behind it. "These were Blackhorn soldiers."

"Blackhorn, huh? So they _did _make it into the city," Nick looked down at the piles of bones. "Although given all the bodies here and their trashed fleet out in the bay, I'd say something must've gone _very _wrong."

"Yeah…but what?" Judy muttered as she pawed through the remains. "Seeing numerous claw and bite marks." The rabbit wasn't kidding, even from a brief glance, it was apparent the Blackhorn armour the soldiers had been wearing had taken some serious beatings, covered in all sorts of scratch and puncture marks. "They're obviously a lot older, but the damage looks similar to what we found on that lion."

"Wait, you mean the one that looked like some savage had been using him as a chew toy?" Nick asked, bending down to paw through the bones in search of clues. "Not to mention several other mercs if what those guards on the balcony said was true..."

"Exactly," Judy nodded. "You think maybe whatever got them was the same thing that killed these soldiers?"

"Well, seeing as how these soldiers are over 400 years old, I'm going to guess...no." Nick stopped as he noticed one skeleton that stood out from the rest. Unlike the others, it wasn't wearing any armour. "Although…"

"Although what?" the rabbit asked.

"Look at this." Nick waved the rabbit over. "One of these mammals is not like the others, care to take a guess which one?"

Judy bent down and looked at the skeleton, staring at it closely and nose twitching as she studied its decayed features. "There's something off about this one."

"Well duh, Fluff, it's the only one not wearing a Blackhorn uniform. My guess is he's part of whatever group wiped these soldiers out."

"No kidding, that detail was pretty obvious," the reporter deadpanned, turning to glance up at the fox. "But that's not what I meant."

"Hmm?"

"Take a look," Judy gestured at the mystery mammal. "The bones...there's something strange about them."

Nick looked at the body, but he couldn't for the life of him see what Judy meant. It had been mangled somewhat with a sword jammed through its ribcage, but the actual bones themselves didn't really stand out. "Just looks like your run-of-the-mill dead mammal to me. Seeing as his ribcage is being used as an improvised sheath I'm guessing our Blackhorn pals managed to take him out before this guy's 'friends' finished them off."

"You're not focusing on the right details, Nick." Judy shook her head. "What does this look like to you, prey or predator?"

"Obviously a predator," Nick answered pointing at the head. "I mean look at those teeth." The skull was a bit oddly shaped, but the fangs protruding from them had managed to catch the fox's attention quickly enough.

"Then why does it look like it has hooves?" Judy pointed to where the skeletal paws should've been. But to Nick's immense confusion, they were far too thick to be paws, indeed looking more reminiscent of hooves.

"I...uh…" Nick struggled, just as mystified as the rabbit. "Wait, what? Sharp teeth and claws along with hooves? That's just like when we found that lion scout."

"Right? And take a look at these." She pointed to another body lacking a Blackhorn uniform. This one also had sharp teeth, but Nick was quick to check out the skeletal mammal's extremities. Unlike the other one though, this one just had regular paws instead of hooves.

"Well, that one's obviously a predator. I don't see wha-" The fox stopped as he looked again. "Wait a minute…" The teeth and claws...they certainly belonged to a predator, but now he noticed just how long they looked. Very long. Too long, as a matter of fact. No predator he had ever heard of had claws or teeth like these.

"You notice?" the rabbit asked.

"I definitely notice," Nick nodded. "Sure as hell never seen any predators with claws and teeth like this outside of cheap Horror and Sci-Fi flicks." Even the structure of these skeletons was off, they looked like mammals, but something about the proportions just seemed...out of whack in a way that just wasn't natural for mammals. "What the hell is with this place?"

"I don't know," Judy stood up as she pulled something from one of the dead soldiers. "But I'm guessing these soldiers were looking for the vault when they were ambushed."

"What makes you think that?"

"Mostly this." Judy held out an old piece of parchment. Nick plucked it from the rabbit and took a look. There was a crude drawing of what he guessed were the white night howlers.

_What is with this place and these flowers? I haven't seen a single one since we got here, but these drawings and carvings of them are everywhere._

Below the drawing, a note had been written:

_Sigue las flores. _

"Follow the flowers?" Nick's tail twitched as he tried to make sense of it. "What flowers? There's nothing but bones and stone down here. Where the hell are flowers supposed to grow?"

"Maybe it's a marker or something?" Judy suggested. She leaned over and started tossing bones aside, trying to clear up the floor. Realizing what the bunny had in mind, the fox got down and helped her, moving old armour and weapons out of the way.

"Even if Sir Francis had 'em beat in terms of research, I'm guessing the Blackhorns managed to gather up at least _some _clues on their own," Nick theorized. "Which means they were probably using something to navigate these tunnels, right?"

"That'd be my guess," Judy agreed. "They'd be spread out in smaller groups to check out the different passages if they didn't know which way to go."

As the two of them cleared the floor and started brushing away the dust, they noticed a line of stone tiles running down the center of the passage. While the walls were adorned with all manner of symbols and depictions, these tiles each only displayed a single flower.

"And…" Nick withdrew the flower artifact from his satchel, holding it against the carved tile on the ground for comparison. "Viola, a perfect match."

"Follow the flowers," Judy observed. "This must be how they navigated the passages."

"And that'll probably lead us straight to the vault," Nick said.

"Wait, vault?" Judy tilted her head in confusion. "We're here for Finn, why would we waste time looking for the vault?"

"Because that's what Cackler and Dante are looking for so that's where they and Finn will be heading," Nick explained. "Or would you rather wander blindly through these tunnels and hope we manage to just stumble into Finn through pure luck?"

"Can't argue with that logic," Judy responded. "But how are we going to get Finn back? Because unless your plan is to somehow buy all the Coastline mercs off with the treasure in that vault, I don't see how a sealed room with no exit will give us any sort of tactical edge."

"Still trying to figure that part out…" Nick admitted, his tail and ears sagging slightly at the less than optimal prospects. "Either way, we need to find that vault if we're going to have any chance of getting to Finn. Beyond that, guess we'll just have to figure it out as we go."

"We seem to do that a lot…" the bunny sighed.

"Yeah...more common occurrence in this job than I'd like," Nick said. "But too late to go back now, reconsidering our life choices will have to wait until after we're off this island."

The two of them followed the path of tiles through the twists and turns of the underground hallways. As they pressed on, they found themselves passing the occasional body. Some of them were dressed like Blackhorn soldiers, other more ancient ones were likely denizens of the city, and others bore a resemblance to the twisted remains of those mysterious mammals that had ambushed the Blackhorns. There were even a few bodies that looked like they had been part of Wilde's crew. Nick wasn't exactly surprised to find them, the explorer had always been a sly one, of course he and his crew would be able to find a way into the city.

_But what became of you, Wilde? Did you get ever make it off the island? Or are you down here somewhere among the bodies? _

They pressed forward in mostly silence, both alert for signs of Coastline or any other surprise guests. For a while, the padding of their feet against the stone was all they head until a muffled blast rang out through the hallways, causing their ears to twitch and fur to stand on end.

"What was that?" Judy asked

"An explosion maybe?" the fox answered, ears swivelling as he tried to figure out the source. "Can't tell which way it came from…"

Despite the initial shock, they quickly shrugged it off and kept following the tile path. The rhythmic pattern of their footpads against the dead silence returned, but it wasn't long before there another blast echoed through the halls, and then another…and another.

"Okay, I see what's going on. Dante and Cackler have gotten sick of trying to figure this place out and are just having their goons blast their way through," Nick said.

"Which means they'll find their way to that vault eventually," Judy added. "Assuming they don't end up causing the entire network to come crashing down on us."

"Let's just focus on beating them to the vault for now. Hopefully, those idiots have enough of an idea what they're doing that they won't bury us all alive before then."

"Do you really believe that?" the rabbit asked, most likely rhetorically.

"No." The fox shook his head. "But the lie is easier to sell to myself if I don't think about it too much, so let's just find the vault and hope luck will carry us the rest of the way."

"Definitely playing the luck card way too much…" Judy grumbled.

They continued following the path, the muffled sounds of blasts and collapsing stone echoing through the hallways with a steadily increasing frequency to the point where it could almost be considered background noise. That psychotic zebra and his partner were _really _starting to run out of patience.

As the tile path came to end, the hallway finally opened up to a massive underground chamber. Slits in the ceiling allowed rays of light through, helping to illuminate the area. The path they walked led to a large platform and catwalk raised above a lower level that contained a massive reflecting pool covering half the floor. Surrounding the room were six statues of a mountain goat, a gazelle, an otter, a jackal, a capybara, and a bat of some kind.

"Okay then, this certainly looks promising," Nick said, looking around as he took in the details of the room with subdued awe. "How much you willing to bet our vault entrance is in here somewhere?"

"Little to nothing," Judy answered. "I'm not in the habit of betting against a sure thing. How much are _you _willing to bet we'll need to figure out some ancient puzzle mechanism first?"

"Always nice to see how quickly you catch on, Carrots." Nick's attention was drawn to a massive carving of a flower on the opposite end of the room from where they entered. "Whatever it is, it'll probably involve that flower in the back."

"You think so?"

"Come on, if there's one thing that's been made abundantly clear during our time here, it's that the locals were freaking obsessed with these flowers...whatever they are. It's practically a given that whatever mechanisms this room has will involve it somehow."

"That does make sense." Judy started looking around the room with just a hint of anxiousness. "Let's just figure this out quickly. Can't imagine we'll have much time before Dante and Cackler show up."

"What gives you the impression they'll find it so- ahh crap…" As Nick looked at the statues, he noticed multiple pathways between them as well as more on the lower floor. "That's a _lot _of entrance points for Coastline to barge through." Another blast echoed out from the hallways as if to emphasize the point.

"Then we'd better get to work," Judy started walking around the room, getting a closer look at the statues. "Huh, that's interesting. These aren't like any of the other statues we've seen."

"Something special about them?"

"Yeah, I mean look at them," Judy pointed up at the jackal statue closest to them.

The statues were all roughly the same size with each holding a staff. As Nick began to look at them, he realized what the reporter meant. "Hey, you're right, these look like they're made from some sort of metal instead of stone." There was something strange about the limbs as well, they had bolts and plate sheets in place as if to facilitate the shifting of different parts. "It looks like these statues can be moved somehow…"

"You mean like with some sort of switch or lever?" the reporter asked.

"Maybe? I'm not sure." Nick tapped his foot as he pondered the statues and whatever purpose they served. He seriously doubted they were just for show. "That jackal statue looks pretty similar to the one we blew up in the desert district."

"So...these statues depict the god of each city district?" Judy speculated, humming in thought as she tried to piece things together. "Maybe Sir Francis wrote something down in his journal that can help."

"Now that you mention it…" Nick started, the rabbit's suggestion jogging his memory. "There _was _something similar in his notes, let me see if I can find it." The fox pulled his ancestor's trusty journal out from his pack and started flipping through the pages.

"Let...me...see…, yes, here we go," Nick said, tapping the desired page with a clawed digit. "This looks like our room." The page had drawings of six different landscapes in a circular pattern: a snow-covered mountain range, a rolling savanna, a coastal shoreline, a barren desert, a lush jungle, and a subterranean cavern, each positioned the same way as the statues in the room. Above the circle of statues was a drawing of the white night howler, its position and pattern matched that of the giant carving at the back of the room.

"One statue for each of the city's districts," Judy observed as she brushed up to Nick to get a look at the page. "The mammals and districts seem to match up with what's in the notes. Yup, looks like our room. Mam, it's almost scary how detailed your ancestor's notes are."

"Yeah, well, what can I say, Carrots? We Wildes have always been very thorough in our research if nothing else," Nick said with a cocky grin.

"Don't sell yourself short, you're also reckless…and shifty."

"...You finished?"

"And accident prone...and stubborn."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks a lot, we're moving on now," Nick groaned, rolling his eyes as he started reading a note at the bottom of the page.

_"From the greatest heights to deepest depths, the light shall always shine through." _

"Hmm, I see your dear old ancestor is as vague as ever," Judy said as she stared at the page. "'Greatest heights to deepest depths' sounds like it hints at an order based on...elevation, maybe? But what does the light mean?"

"I'm not quite sure," Nick tilted his head as he struggled to make sense of the riddle. "We might be missing something, let's take a look around and see what else we can find."

"Right." The two of them split up and started searching the platform, checking the statues and chamber for any indication of what they needed to do, all to the occasional rumbling of stone as another blast would go off somewhere in the distance, making for a tense reminder that they'd best figure this out sooner rather than later. "That's ancient civilizations for ya, always gotta make things complicated." As Nick started pawing at the ground in the center of the platform, he noticed a strange outline in the stone. Brushing at it, he realized something was set into the ground with a metal plate and an indentation at the very center. "Carrots, over here."

"What is it?"

"There's something built into the platform here," Nick answered, feeling the indentation with his paw. "Looks like we need to do something with this."

As the rabbit approached, she kneeled down next to the treasure hunter and looked at the indentation, her ears straightening in excitement. "That shape looks like it matches with the artifact."

"Kinda does…" Nick pulled out the flower artifact and looked at it, comparing its shape to the indentation. "Worth a shot." He set the artifact into the indentation and found that it clicked into place perfectly. "Okay, getting somewhere." He twisted the artifact and the attached metal plate. An audible click rang out along with the sound of gears turning as a stone and metal tablet began to rise out of the ground. Up above, the ceiling split open over the mountain goat statue with a bright shaft of light shining through and illuminating the metal mammal.

"I'm going to go ahead and assume that was supposed to happen," Judy shouted over the sound of the gears as she looked around the room.

"Good call," Nick craned his neck up and looked up at the shaft above the mountain goat statue. "So I'm guessing that's the 'light', now what do we do with it?"

"Could have something to do with this." Judy pointed at the tablet that had risen out of the ground. On it lay a metal console with two levers along with a series of five blank crests and one with a mountain goat imprinted on it. "Looks like...some sort of control console. Would a civilization like this even have the ability to make that sort of thing?"

"Normally, I'd say that was one of the stupidest things I've ever heard," Nick said, poking at the levers. "But there hasn't been a single thing normal about this expedition since the start."

Curious about what would happen, the fox pulled on the right lever. His ears perked up as he heard the sound of more gears turning and the groaning of metal.

"Nick, the statue!" Judy pointed up to the mountain goat as its arms started to move.

Nick reflexively released the lever and the statue stopped moving. "Well…that's interesting." He tested the lever, pushing it in different directions and watching as the statue's arms moved to match the actions of the lever. "Okay, now that's pretty sweet!"

"Absolutely incredible," Judy beamed in amazement. "Think of the technical expertise needed for such a feat. I really wish I still had my camera."

"Alright, now I'm really curious," Nick said as he eyed the other lever. "Just what do you do?" Pulling it, the crest of the mountain goat flipped around to the other side, revealing an empty crest while the one next to it flipped around to reveal a different mammal. "Looks like an...otter?" Nick looked over at the correlating statue. "Then that means…" He pushed the right lever again and as expected, the arms of the otter statue began to move. "Okay, pretty sure I got this console...thing...figured out, now what does that have to do with the light?"

"I think those statues are meant to channel the light," Judy said. "Look at the staff." She pointed to the one being gripped by the mountain goat statue. A beam of light was emitting from the very tip of it.

"Another piece of the puzzle?" Nick started flipping the left lever until he was controlling the mountain goat again. As he moved the statue's arms, the light shifted as well, always being directed wherever the staff was pointed. "So does that mean we need to bounce that light around the room?" Examining the statues, he noticed that each one had a light prism in the center that was probably meant to channel the beam, looking over at the flower carving, he noticed it had a similar one.

"Given this civilization's reverence of that flower, I wouldn't be surprised if we have to get the light into that flower carving," Judy theorized.

"Alright, then let's get that light in there," Nick started shifting the lever around, trying to direct the light beam towards the flower.

"Uhh...I don't think that's going to work, Nick," Judy cautioned. "That riddle seemed to suggest we gotta do it in a certain order."

"Nonsense, Fluff, just needs a little love is all," Nick grunted as he struggled to get the beam to line up. "Come...on...you...stupid." The statue groaned and screeched in protest with each of Nick's attempts to force the beam into place. Despite his best efforts though, the statue refused to cooperate, the beam of light continuously falling short. Nick finally let out an irritated sigh as he released the lever and the statue ground to a halt.

"Got any more 'love' to give it?" Judy asked. "Or do you want to maybe do this the right way now before you end up breaking the thing and sealing us out of the vault for good."

"You know…think I'll just admit defeat on this one and do things your way," the fox conceded, his ears sagging slightly in embarrassment. "So...mountains are obviously first, what's next?"

"Could be...jungle, desert, or savanna, really," Judy answered, her brow scrunched in thought. "Shore and cavern are probably the last ones, just need to figure out the other three."

"Hmm, not very clear cut as to which of those is highest," the fox observed, looking at the statues of the capybara, jackal, and gazelle respectively. "There's gotta be another hint, something we're not seeing."

"Is there anything else in the notes?" the doe suggested. "Something that might show which area is the highest?"

"Not sure…" Nick focused on the three drawings in question, looking for anything that stood out in them. The landscapes themselves didn't seem to hint at anything, but…"Wait a minute," Nick started as one particular detail stood out to him. "There's a mountain range in the background of all three of those landscapes."

"Really? Let me see!" Judy urged, grabbing the journal out of Nick's paws.

"Why yes, Judy, of course you can have a look. Thank you for asking so nicely, so considerate of you to wait until I was done with it," Nick said sarcastically, not that the rabbit seemed to notice.

"The peaks are closest in the jungle and furthest in the desert," Judy explained. "If they're closer, that'd mean the area's at a higher elevation, right?"

"Maybe, not exactly what I'd call a solid lead though…" Nick responded. "But...can't really afford to waste too much time making sure we're right either, not with Coastline blasting their way ever closer." As if on cue, another blast went off in the distance, causing the chamber to rumble slightly. "Gotta say, those guys have really been on point with their dramatic timing."

"Unless you'd rather wait around for the chance to tell them that yourself, we don't really have any other choice," Judy said. "Frankly, I'd rather take my chances with triggering an ancient trap over getting boxed in here by Coastline."

"Alright then, guess we're doing this. Here goes nothing." Taking a deep breath, Nick started manipulating the lever, guiding the goat statue's staff so that the beam of light was directed into the prism at the center of the gazelle statue. "Please don't be a trap, please don't be a trap, please don't be a trap…"

As the beam connected with the prism, it lit up like a glowing beacon, making a noise that almost sounded whimsical. Releasing the controls, Nick waited to see if anything would happen.

"Well, no spikes or darts flying at us, so at the very least, we didn't trigger a trap. Or if we did, then it's broken. Guess that's a plus either way."

"Look, the gazelle's staff." Judy pointed at the statue of the antelope. Just like with the mountain goat statue, the staff was now emitting a beam of light from the tip. "That prism must redirect the light. They probably use prisms like these to help light up the underground sections of the city and make it easier for the non-nocturnal mammals to navigate."

"Pretty fancy stuff for such an ancient city." Nick nodded as he pulled on the left lever and took control of the gazelle statue. "Alright, what do you say we keep this ball rolling?"

"Don't stop on my account, Slick."

Nick made his way from statue to statue, lining them up so that each staff would light up the next statue. From the gazelle statue, he then lit up the capybara, then the jackal, then the otter, and finally the bat.

"Alright, that's all the statues done." Nick clapped his paws together in satisfaction. "Time to light up that flower."

Nick switched control over to the bat statue and grabbed the other lever. "Alright 'bats', come on and bring us home." He started manipulating the bat statue's wings only to be brought to a premature halt by the horrendous screeching of metal as the wings struggled to move. Caught off guard, the fox froze, blinking in confusion. "Okay...that's new."

"That...doesn't sound like a statue that's in good order..."

"Figures at least one of them would be busted," Nick said with a shrug. "Not that we need it intact for much longer." He started pushing on the lever again, the statue continuing to shriek and groan in protest as the wings sluggishly struggled to move. "Easy there, big guy. Just gotta point ya at that flower, piece of cake, right?"

The statue apparently decided otherwise when one of the wings began shuddering violently under the strain and broke off, colliding with the staff and snapping it in half with a screeching clash of metal.

"No! No! No!" Nick screamed in frustration as the wing and torn staff piece crashed right through part of the stone platform and into the reflecting pool below with a large splash. "...Crap."

"You broke it!" Judy exclaimed.

"I didn't break shit!" Nick shot back. "That piece of crap broke down on its own." Nick slammed the ancient console in frustration just a bit too hard, his paw flaring up in pain. "Great, and now my paw's killing me," he groaned, eyes squeezed shut and gripping the sore paw as he fought through the pain. "Dear gods, that hurts!" Once the pain had died down enough and he opened his eyes again, he saw that the bat statue now only a had single wing and half a staff. "Now how the hell do we get that vault open?"

Turning to the rabbit for any ideas, he saw she had hopped over to the damaged bat statue, sifting through some pieces that had chipped off in the chaos. "What are you-" Nick started to ask when he noticed that amidst the rubble were shards of broken glass. Scratch that, not glass, they were mirror shards, and Judy was sorting through them, checking their size, shape, and overall condition. "Careful with those shards, Fluff. There's probably more reliable ways to slice your paws open, but not many."

"I know how sharp mirror shards can be, Nick. I'm just looking for the right one to- Eep! Fricking carrot sticks!" Judy hissed as she gripped her paw in pain, a stream of blood pouring down her arm."

"Told ya." Nick carefully approached the reporter, watching for shards on the floor. It was times like this he'd almost consider buying boots, as crazy as that sounded. "Need me to take a look at that?"

"I'm fine, it's just a scratch." Judy held out a paw, motioning for the fox to stay back.

"A lot of blood for just a scratch."

"It wasn't a deep cut." Judy reached into a pack at her side, pulling out some cloth and wrapping it around her injured paw before fastening it tightly. She then picked up a rounded mirror shard that was about the size of her head. "This one should do nicely."

"What are you doing with that thing anyway?"

"These mirrors were inside the statue. I'm guessing they redirect the light from the prism to the staff," Judy explained.

"Yeah, the _broken _staff," the fox pointed out. "Can't exactly use that to light up the flower anymore."

"No, but the light's still being redirected to the intact part of the staff, right?" Judy pointed up to the broken staff, a beam of light still shooting out from what was left of it.

"You're thinking we could use the mirror to redirect the light into the flower's prism ourselves?" Nick finished, piecing the reporter's plan together. "Will that even work?"

"If we can reach it, then hopefully some focused light will be all it takes to activate whatever mechanism is in that flower," Judy theorized. "Doubt the flashlight will be strong enough, but using a mirror shard to deflect that light beam should hopefully do the trick."

"We're going to have to climb up the statue to reach it," Nick said. "You gonna be alright with your paw like that?"

"I told you I'll be fine," Judy said, brushing off the fox's concern. "Although I'm...going to need you to come up with me," she muttered in an embarrassed tone. "I'm too short to reach the beam by myself…"

"Oh, is that right?" Nick smugly replied, giving the reporter a half lidded stare.

"Do you really want to waste time rubbing it in?" Judy snapped at the fox. "I doubt those Coastline psychos will find that nearly as hilarious as you do when they inevitably blast their way in here."

"Alright, alright," Nick relented. "I'll let it slide, let's just get up there."

The two of them started scaling up the statue and straddled themselves on top of the intact wing, the broken staff still gripped below in the bat's claw.

"Okay, the beam's just out of reach," Judy started, carefully gripping the mirror shard in her paws. "Just get me out far enough and I should be able to bounce the light beam into the flower.

"Got it." With a nod, Nick gripped one of the bunny's ears, causing her to practically jump in alarm.

"Cheesing Petes," Judy cried out. "What the heck are you doing?"

"What? You said you needed me to hold you out over the-"

"Feet, Slick! By my feet!" Judy shouted at the fox. "Why would you think I'd ever be okay with you dangling me by my ears?"

"I...uh...well."

"Forget it," Judy sighed. "There's no answer you could possibly come up with wouldn't make me want to smack you. Just help me get over there."

Not wanting to press his luck, Nick just silently nodded. As Judy reached out, he gripped her by her foot and held her dangling over the edge of the statue wing, just above the broken staff.

"Get me out a bit further," the rabbit ordered.

"Got it." Gripping the wing with one paw, he stretched out further until the reporter was right above the beam of light.

"Okay, lower me down a bit."

The fox complied and lowered her closer to the light.

"A little more…" the bunny asked, holding the mirror in both paws above, or rather, below her head as she dangled above the beam, her ears hanging limply in the air.

Nick lowered her down further.

"A little more."

"You good now?"

"Just about, go a bit lower."

Nick nearly slipped as he strained to lower her further, his muscles protesting at the awkward angle he was being forced to maintain. "Any more and we're both going over, Carrots. Please tell me that's enough."

"It's enough, it's enough," Judy answered. "Yeesh, that is an intensely bright light."

"You going to be long?" Nick asked in a strained voice. "This pose is a _really _awkward one to hold. Pretty sure I've pulled something already…"

"Almost," Judy responded as she fiddled with the angle of the mirror. "Getting it...just...right...ah-ha! Got it!" The rabbit proclaimed triumphantly as she finally angled the beam into the glass prism at the center of the flower carving.

"Did that do it?" Nick asked, waiting in awkward silence.

Somewhere within the walls of the temple, a cacophony of shifting stones and grinding gears resounded as the chamber came to life. All the statues began readjusting, standing at attention with their staffs held straight at their side. This also included what was left of the bat statue, nearly throwing a startled Nick and Judy right off.

"Shit!" Nick yelped as he struggled to grip the moving wing and pulled Judy back up. "Hold on!"

"Woah!" Judy cried out as the mirror slipped out of her paws and shattered against the stone platform below. "The mirror!"

"Forget it, looks like whatever you did got it working," Nick assured the rabbit as he placed her down next to him once the wing stopped moving. "Now where's the vault?"

"Over there!" Judy pointed to an area on the lower level right in front of the reflecting pool where a pedestal was slowly rising out of the floor. "That's gotta be the next step."

Nick squinted his eyes as he looked down at it. It was hard to tell from this far away, but there was an indentation of some kind on the pedestal. "It looks like something's supposed to go in there." He reached into his satchel and removed the flower artifact. "Probably just perfect for this little baby, wouldn't you say?"

"Only one way to find out," Judy said, smiling up at the fox.

"That there is, Carrots." Nick shot the bunny a cocky grin as he put the artifact back in his satchel. He started sidling across the wing to the main body of the statue but was yanked to a sudden stop when a grey paw firmly grasped his arm.

"Wait a sec," Judy urged. "Something's not right."

"What do you mean?"

"Listen!"

Nick's ears flicked in various directions as he tried to listen for anything suspicious, but there was nothing to be heard, just the stifling silence that came with being underground. Even the grinding of gears and stone had stopped. "Uhhh...not hearing anything."

"Exactly. Not a single thing, no gears, no rumbling, no _explosions_," Judy said, emphasizing the last one. "When was the last time you heard any Coastline bombs go off down here?"

"I...Uhh…" Nick couldn't remember, he had stopped giving it any conscious thought when they were figuring out the statues. "I don't know...maybe when we were working on the jackal?"

"Think about it, they've been blasting their way through the tunnel network non-stop since we got here," the reporter pointed out. "Why would they stop unless they either figured out how to navigate the tunnels, or they've already found this chamber?"

"Come on, Carrots, this is Coastline we're talking about. Subtlety isn't really their strong suit. If they had managed to find this place, they would've run in guns blazing the second they knew we were here," Nick tried to reason, only for his ears to start sinking as a far more troubling possibility struck him. "Unless they've been waiting for us to open up the vault for them…"

Somebody must've been listening in and realized the jig was up, because the next thing they heard was the igniting of a rocket as an RPG round came barreling out the back hallway right towards them.

"RPG!" Nick shouted, grabbing Judy and throwing himself at the head of the bat statue. The flying ordinance collided against the wing and detonated in a bone rattling blast, tearing the wing loose and sending it crashing to the ground. His ears were ringing from the blast, but he did his best to ignore it, focusing on holding the reporter tightly with one arm and gripping onto the side of the bat statue's head with the other. "Okay, so I guess they _were _just waiting, then!"

"Nick! We've got company" Judy shouted, pointing over at a ram and two mercenary hyenas charging out the hallway with their weapons raised.

"Oh, great," Nick growled as he shoved the bunny behind the statue head and quickly joined her just before a salvo of bullets started slamming into the statue. "You assholes really picked the worst possible time for this!" Taking advantage of their recklessness, Nick drew his pistol out with his free paw and leaned out to fire at the mercenaries. Despite the circumstances, his grip was still steady enough for him to nail one hyena in the head, and the ram square in the chest, both going down before he was forced to move back behind his loose definition of cover.

"We gotta get out of here," Judy shouted. "This statue's not gonna last much longer!" The sound of groaning metal emphasized the point as the statue started to buckle. They were suddenly rocked much more violently when another explosive hit the statue, causing it to begin pitching over.

"Aw hell, this thing's toast!" Nick yelled. "Jump!" Steadying himself as much as possible the fox leaped straight towards the other hyena, paw balled into a fist as he flew through the air and slammed the larger predator square in the muzzle. He heard a loud crack as something in the hyena's face broke and the mammal went down hard.

Hearing a crashing sound right behind him, Nick rolled out of the way as a large chunk of the platform was obliterated and what was left of the statue broke apart, falling into the waters below. As the fox struggled to get up, he heard an aggressive bleat, turning to see a second ram charging straight at him with his weapon raised to fire. Nick tried to reach for his pistol only to find his holster was empty.

_Shit! Must've dropped it! _

As Nick moved to try and dodge out of the way, two gunshots rang out and the ram suddenly stumbled, crashing onto his side with a grunt and ceasing all movement. "What the…" the fox turned around to see Judy struggling to hold a rifle nearly twice her size, the barrel still smoking.

"Holy shit…" Nick gasped in disbelief. "Nice shot, Carrots."

There was a brief look of stunned shock on the rabbit's face before she blinked and shook her head. Gunning down a mammal like that couldn't have been easy, but at least she had enough sense to know that now wasn't the time to freak out over it. "We need to move!" she shouted as she turned around and started running for an exit.

"Right," Nick grabbed the downed ram's rifle and ran after her.

"This way," Judy shouted as they sprinted for the exit. The two of them didn't hear so much as feel that they were walking into an ambush, leaping out of the way just as a series of gunshots rang out from the exit. "Not this way! Not this way!" As they made for a different path, the exit lit up with rifle fire as concealed mercenaries began to unload on them.

"Get to the lower level," Nick yelled. They rushed towards a downward ramp only to stop again as another salvo of weapons fire came flying up from that direction, the mercs seeming to have lost any interest in trying to take them by surprise and now just throwing everything they had at the duo. "Seriously?" the fox yelped as he jumped back, getting a brief glimpse of an entire squad firing at them from below, including one of the armoured elephants from the gate, still packing his GRLK machinegun. Nick tried to not imagine what such a massive gun could do to a simple fox like him as he turned and ran. "These assholes are everywhere!"

"Get to the console...thing!" Judy shouted. As they both ran for the statue control station, a badger leaped out at them from behind one of the statues with a pistol drawn. The mercenary fired one shot at Judy but she managed to hop out of the way and throw the rifle she was carrying at the predator in one swift motion. The badger didn't even have time to react before the weapon smashed into his muzzle with a painful sounding crack that sent him stumbling backwards and over the edge of the platform with a startled cry.

With gods knows how many mercenaries now assailing them from multiple directions and their barrages starting to become uncomfortably accurate, Nick and Judy dove behind the console and slammed their backs against it.

"That should give us a-" Nick started, only for his senses to flare up as he felt something approaching. Snapping around, the fox squeezed off several shots with his rifle, catching a hare merc that was trying to rush them. Nick briefly saw the lapine fly backwards as he was hit but quickly turned away, already focused on more pressing matters. "Godsdamn, these guys _really _don't like us." He poked his head out and fired several shots only to quickly be forced back down by what felt like an endless barrage of bullets riddling his cover. The rockets slamming into the platform from below weren't exactly filling him with confidence either.

"Did you get a look at how many there are?" Judy asked over the roar of gunfire and RPG rounds.

"Why the hell does that even matter?" Nick shouted back. "They've got an entire army down here, there's no way we can fight them all."

"Well, definitely not with an attitude like that!" Judy snapped back. Despite the continuing barrage, she stuck her head briefly to get a look and then immediately snapped back down.

"Are you crazy? That's a good way to get that cute bunny head of yours blown off!"

"Don't call me cu-" Judy started only to say, but then blinked and drop the line of thought. "You know what? I can chew you out over that later. Anyways, they're not moving in. They're all just sticking to their cover and suppressing us. We might be able to make a break for one of the exits if they let up."

"Run for it and hope for the best? Is it a bad sign that I can't think of anything better?" Nick pondered the idea until a bullet whizzed just over his head, convincing him to just go with it. "Alright, fine, as soon as there's a lull, we'll make a break for-" He was interrupted by the sensation of his stomach dropping when the platform shifted downward slightly, beginning to rumble and crack beneath the constant barrage of explosives and machine gunfire. "Shit...they're not going to let up…"

"What do you mean? They've gotta try and flank us right?"

"No, they don't." Nick shook his head, nearly jumping as another blast caused the platform to shift again with a loud crack, the stone and metal framework steadily crumbling beneath the assault. "They just need to keep us boxed in while they bring this whole thing down!"

"Sweet cheese and cra-" Judy was cut off as another explosion rocked the platform. It was finally too much to handle as the platform came apart. Chunks of it broke off and collapsed into the water while the rest of it began to slope at an alarmingly steep angle, causing Judy to lose her grip and slide towards the edge with a surprised cry.

"Judy!" Nick shot his paw out to grab the bunny, dropping the rifle as he forced himself to grip the console to keep them both from sliding over the edge. All around them they could hear the screeching of shattered metal and cracking stone as more and more of the platform broke away. "Just...hold...on!"

Unfortunately, holding on meant very little when the last intact pieces of the platform gave in and the very stone beneath them split apart.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shiiiiiiiiit!," Nick screamed as they both slipped off the edge of what was left of the platform and crashed into the cold pool waters below.

The icy shock of the water nearly overwhelmed Nick, forcing the air out of his lungs, but he dug deep and fought through the encroaching paralysis, holding onto Judy's paw as he furiously paddled upward until he broke the surface of the water. Not stopping to rest, he and the rabbit struggled to the edge of the pool and pulled themselves out, gagging and coughing up water as they went.

Nick tried to catch his breath but the sound of approaching footsteps reminded him why that wasn't an option. He started to pull himself up only to feel something press hard into his back and slam him back down. Before he could even react, a pair of hooves grabbed his paws and bound them tightly behind his back. "Hey! Hey! Watch it!" he protested as he struggled in vain to pull himself free. Looking over, there was a lion's foot pressing down on Judy's back as a weasel bound her paws behind her with zip ties. "Oh yeah, sure, tag team the rabbit, real classy. Some real badasses, you guys are. What, you ain't even gonna buy us dinner first?"

"Don't blame them, Nick, they're just playing it safe. You two have proven to possess a real talent for disruption, after all," a distressingly familiar voice said. "But that'll all be coming to an end soon enough."

A pair of hooves clomped down just short of Nick's muzzle. Craning his head up to see who they belonged to, he saw the striped fur pattern of a zebra. Looking even further up, he found himself staring straight into the eyes of none other than his cursed rival Dante, a malicious smile equal parts smug and cruel plastered onto his muzzle.

"Son of a bitch..."


	21. What Lies Beyond

_AN: Hey again all. Here yet again with another chapter post! This one took a little bit longer than I would've liked, had some real life complications slow things down a bit. But managed to push through and get it done. Hope it was worth the wait for you guys. Anyways, time to read on about Nick and his friends doing treasure hunty...type...things..._

* * *

_Again? Seriously, Nick? Captured again? You really need to get your shit together. _

"That was quite the fall, you two had me worried," Dante said in a mockingly insincere tone. The zebra's voice was smug, but there was an edge of anger to it as well. Nick couldn't tell if he was trying to hide it or not.

_Won't be able to get my shit together if Dante kills me first. But he hasn't blown my brains out yet, so maybe he's still in the mood to chat? _

Given the hoof he could feel pressing into his back and the bindings on his paws, Nick knew struggling would be pointless.

The bunny next to him wasn't faring any better, soaked from her fall into the pool and pinned to the ground by her lion and weasel tag team, her paws bound as well. Despite the circumstances, her eyes were still burning with determination. She wouldn't beg, she was too proud for that. But Nick wasn't about to let her die for the sake of her stubborn pride, so he might as well see if he could talk his way out.

"Okay Dante...so here's the deal," the fox started. "I've been giving it some thought...and with the way things have been going, I decided that I _will _take you up on that partnership offer of yours."

The zebra didn't give an answer. He just smirked and chuckled at the treasure hunter's audacity.

_That's probably not a good sign. _

"So...that's a no, then?"

"Sorry Nick, but that offer came off the table the moment you bashed my _face _into the cell bars…" The zebra's mocking tone started to falter as he said the last part through gritted teeth, the harsh edge to his voice more poignant.

_Guess I should've seen that coming. _

"Yeah," Nick said with a relaxed sigh as he let his spite get the better of him. "That actually felt pretty good."

_You're an idiot and you deserve whatever's coming next for opening your big dumb mouth like that. _

"Hmph, cute," Dante scoffed, followed by a swift kick to the fox's side. His ribs exploded with pain as the air was forced from his lungs in a violent fit of coughing.

"Nick!" Judy cried out in alarm, struggling against her captors.

_Told you… _

"Did _that _feel pretty good?" Dante asked.

"Not particularly…" the fox wheezed. "Think I'll just shut up now."

"Smart move," Dante smiled, the smugness returning to his voice for the most part, although that hard edge hadn't completely faded. "I think we're ready to move on to the reunion then. That's why you two came all this way, isn't it?"

Nick felt the pressure on his back lift as his captor stepped off and picked him up, a hoof gripped firmly on the back of his neck as he was half carried and half dragged toward the pedestal that had risen out of the floor right before everything went to hell. Looking over, he saw Judy's entire upper buddy engulfed in the lion's paw.

At the pedestal, he noticed Finnick on his knees, paws bound just like theirs. Before Nick even had a chance to say anything, a mammal's rifle swung into his mentor's face, knocking him down. The offending mammal being none other than Tanger, a look on the mammal's face that was a mix of satisfied and furious, his cheetah partner beside him and looking on with a slightly anxious expression. It didn't seem like the nyala had quite gotten over the incident with his horn and balls yet.

"Hey! Leave him alone you ba-" Nick struggled to shake his captor loose when he and the bunny were dropped onto the floor, both landing on their sides. The fox tried to move only to freeze up as he felt the barrel of a Coastline rifle being jammed against the side of his head. It was still warm, clearly having been fired recently, and most likely at them.

"He wouldn't give you up," Dante remarked. "Despite our best efforts to 'persuade' him otherwise."

Nick glared at Dante, eyes narrowed and teeth baring slightly. It felt like his hackles were about to raise at any moment, but he fought against that urge. What good would that accomplish beyond getting him smacked around some more? Plus, a soaked fox lying on his side with bound paws probably wouldn't make for a very intimidating sight.

"I've got to admit, Nick, you got yourself quite a good partner here. Very loyal, very stubborn," the zebra continued, intent on twisting the metaphorical knife. "I mean he'd have to be to endure everything we put him through." He left the last part to Nick and Judy's imaginations. "A bit slow as guides go, but then, I guess that was for the benefit of you two. Isn't that right, Finn?"

"Was hoping you idiots would just blow yourselves up if I took long enough," Finnick growled from where he lay, a small pool of blood forming beneath his muzzle. The desert fox was in bad shape, his right eye was swollen while his face and arms were covered in cuts and bruises, the blood soaked into his fur. "Didn't think you two would actually be stupid enough to come back for me."

"Oh Finn…" Judy lamented, ears drooping as she looked at the desert fox's battered form.

"Hey, buddy…" Nick started, unable to hide the worry in his voice. "You alright?"

"Ah, don't get your panties twisted, it's not as bad as it looks," Finnick groaned, tilting his muzzle towards Tanger. "Mono-ball over here can't hit for shit."

"Shut it, brak!" the nyala growled, kicking the desert fox in the side. He winced from the blow, letting out a mix between a cough and a yelp.

"See?" Finnick wheezed. "Barely even felt that."

"Leave him alone!" Judy yelled in protest.

"Can we move this along?" another familiar voice growled impatiently. Nick looked up to see Cackler standing right behind him. The hyena's arms were folded and his usual irritated look was plastered onto his scarred muzzle. "You've had your fun, but it's time to get on with what we came all this way for."

"If you insist," Dante nodded. "Bring them with us, they might be of some use."

"Right, you two," Cackler barked, pointing at Tanger and Baju. "Search them."

The nyala and cheetah nodded, both sitting the fox and rabbit up to pat them down. Tanger began searching Judy while Baju took Nick.

"You ain't gonna try anything, right fox?" the cheetah asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Well...I was planning on headbutting you and kicking my way through every last one of you Coastline clowns with my paws behind my back," Nick answered sarcastically. "But damn, guess I can't do that now that you've gone and asked me about it. Curses, your probing foiled my plan!"

"Ha! Got you good!" The cheetah smiled, oblivious to the sarcasm. "Hear that, bru?" he asked Tanger. "I foiled his plan!"

"Gods, I want to shoot you almost as much as them..." the nyala muttered, clearly not in the mood for his partner's ineptitude.

Nick began to open his mouth, ready to blow everyone away with a witty observation of the two mercs.

"Not another word, Wilde," Cackler growled at the fox. "Just keep still and shut up."

"Gonna have to go with the scarface on that, Kid," Finnick agreed, getting a glare from the hyena. "I've been through enough shit already without having to listen to any more of that jabbering you call 'wit.'"

Being hit from all sides, Nick relented, letting the cheetah pat him down in silence.

When Tanger finished searching Judy he held out a carrot shaped pen. "Nothing on the bunny but a flashlight and some stupid novelty pen." The mercenary tossed the pen into the reflecting pool. He didn't notice the rabbit wince as it plopped into the water with barely a splash. "What about you, Baju?"

"Nothing," Baju answered cluelessly as he held out Sir Francis' journal in one paw and the flower artifact in the other. "Just an old book and some metal flower." He glanced at Tanger, "Think we can sell 'em for anything?"

"Wha...tha...you…" Tanger angrily sputtered, mouth foaming and nostrils flaring as words failed him. "Give me that! Do you seriously use your own brain as a scratching post or something?" The prey mercenary tore the journal and artifact out of the predator's paws and thrust them into Dante's hooves.

"How the hell have so many of our other guys been killed, and yet you two idiots are somehow still alive?" Cackler groaned in frustration, smacking a paw against his forehead.

"Well that was certainly an interesting little demonstration of the kind of idiots I've been paying for all this time," Dante muttered, rolling his eyes as he pocketed the journal and closely examined the artifact. "So...this is the fabled 'Flower Key.' I'll give you this, Nick, as troublesome as you've been, your work really ended up paying dividends for me. I'm not sure I would've been able to find this key, let alone the island itself, without all that due diligence of yours."

"Well, you know me," Nick shrugged. "I may not always look to leave mammals satisfied, but I certainly aim to impress."

"Godsdammit, kid…" Finnick growled.

"Oh, I'm well aware." Dante stepped up to the pedestal, artifact held in hoof as he brushed away the dust at the center. "It really is a shame you proved so difficult, we could've made quite a lot of money together if you had put those skills and wits of yours to better use. But surprise, surprise, the shifty fox proved to be too shifty for his own good. I guess you weren't so different from Alex and the rest of our Junior Ranger pals after all," the zebra taunted as he locked the artifact into place on the pedestal and twisted it. "They couldn't escape their instinctual mentalities either."

A series of audible clicks could be heard as something was triggered. A few moments later the groaning of metal started to resound from somewhere behind the walls, becoming louder and more rhythmic as ancient gears that had remained undisturbed for countless ages finally awoke.

A sudden rushing of water echoed through the chamber as the stone bottom of the reflecting pool pulled apart and its contents began pouring through the new opening into a seemingly endless abyss. In the middle of the opening lay a set of stairs to a walkway leading further into the temple, a massive set of metal doors at the end. Aligned on each side of the wall between the abyss and the walkway were statues of mammals, still dripping with water from the drained reflection pool.

"Amazing," Dante said, although not in awe, it sounded more like he was boasting. "Are the surface teams still tracking our location?"

_Surface teams? What are you planning, Dante?_

"One sec," Cackler raised a paw as he pulled out his radio and listened in. "Yeah, they still got us pinned," the hyena nodded.

"Good," Dante grinned. "Time to see what lies in store, then." The zebra stepped onto the stairs, following them down to the walkway.

"Move out," Cackler barked, motioning for the small army of mercenaries to follow. "And get them moving," he pointed at the captives.

"On your feet," a voice ordered from behind, pulling Nick up and shoving him forward so violently that he nearly stumbled.

"Okay, okay, watch the tail," Nick protested as he struggled to keep from tumbling down the stairs. Judy and Finnick were both shoved next to him as the trio were forcibly marched forward. "You guys alright?" he asked.

"In the grand scheme of things? Not so great…" Judy answered, receiving a jab in her back from the goat 'escorting' her for her troubles. "But for somebody with a gun in their back, I guess it could be worse…"

"What about you, old timer?" Nick asked, looking at the desert fox limping along next to him, being escorted by a badger.

Finnick didn't even look over, just giving a disinterested grunt in response.

_Okay...not sure what to make of that. _

"Come on, Gramps, talk to me," Nick insisted.

"More pissed than hurt," Finnick finally answered.

"Yeah," Nick let out a half chuckle. "Pretty sure I can relate."

"Not at them," the older fox barked. "Well...obviously at them. You'd have to be the freaking Dalai Llama to not be pissed at them if they had slapped you around that much. But when I said pissed, I meant at you!"

"Wait, me?" Nick's ears flicked in surprise. That wasn't the reaction he was expecting. Well...not entirely true, he was expecting the grumpiness, that was just Gramps being Gramps, but he certainly wasn't expecting the old fox to be mad at him.

"Yes, you!" Finnick growled. "Are you both ugly _and _stupid?"

"Ugly?" Nick asked, a little taken aback. "Wait...why is that the part I'm hung up on? Nevermind, more importantly, what the hell, Gramps? I was expecting a little more gratitude given Carrots and I came all this way and risked our asses to rescue you."

"Rescue me!?" Finnick spat in disbelief. "Oh, _this _is what you call a rescue, is it?"

The old fox had him there.

"I'll admit...it hasn't really played out according to the best case scenario…" Nick tried to justify, not exactly sure what to argue. Glancing around, he noticed they were halfway across the walkway, a set of floral patterns visible on the doors at the end.

Finnick still wasn't looking at him, but Nick could imagine the smaller fox rolling his eyes. "Okay, then, tell me this, Kid. You and the bunny have any sort of plan?"

"Uhh…" Judy struggled, unable to come up with anything.

_Way to drop the ball, Fluff. _

"We...sorta...did?" Nick answered, trying and failing to fill in.

_Okay, that wasn't any better… _

"Oh really?" Finnick snorted skeptically. "And did this 'sorta plan' involve the two of you getting caught?"

"Well…" This really wasn't Nick's day.

"Of course not…" Finnick sighed frustratedly. "Of all the dumb things you could've done, you just had to charge straight in and get yourselves caught like a pair of godsdamn idiots."

"Finn!" Judy objected.

"Hey, ease off old mam!" Nick snapped. "We came back for you!"

"That's the problem, you should've just cut and run," Finnick shot back. "Coming for me was the dumbest move you could possibly make!"

"So...what? You saying we should've just left you to die?" Nick asked rhetorically.

"Yes!"

_What the hell, Gramps? That was supposed to be rhetorical! _

"Seriously?" Nick growled in offended disbelief. "Do you think _that _little of me? That I'd just leave you at the mercy of a psycho like Dante? After everything we've been through?!"

"How flattering…" Dante chimed in, his tone suggesting that despite the insult, he was finding the whole exchange rather amusing. That smug asshole was really enjoying himself, watching as they aired out their dirty laundry.

"Look, Kid, here's the thing. I'm old and I knew the risks," Finnick explained. "Your dumb ass is worth a hell of a lot more than mine at this point. But stubborn moron you are, you not only go and throw your own life away on some damn fool's errand, but you drag the bunny along with you. What did I tell you back at that shitty motel? This wasn't worth your lives!"

"I can speak for myself, Finn," Judy cut in. "Coming to save you was _my _choice to make, Nick didn't 'drag me along.'"

"Well, then you're just as big of an idiot as he is," Finnick snapped back. "Now, instead of one corpse, we're gonna wind up with three, congratu-freaking-lations to the both of you, I hope it was worth it."

"Alright, alright, that's enough," Dante cut in as they finally reached the set of metal doors. "As much as I'm enjoying this little show, we've got more pressing matters to attend to."

A rhino and hippo stepped up to the doors and threw their weight into them, grunting in exertion as they forced them open.

Taking advantage of the diversion, Nick leaned in close to Finnick. "We'll talk about this later," he whispered. The desert fox flicked his ears twice, a sign he got the message loud and clear. Nick had a plan and he'd best be ready for when it was time to act. He didn't, actually, but Finnick didn't need to know that part. He'd probably figure something out if he managed to delay long enough. As for the bunny, she was a quick learner and had sharp instincts, he was confident she'd pick up on what's happening in time.

_Assuming we get the chance... _

The doors screeched against the stone as the mercenaries finally managed to force them open, the sound somewhat resembling claws scratching a chalkboard, only even more obnoxious. Dante and Cackler were the first to step in with the mercenaries filing in behind them. Not wanting to get another jab in the back from their escorts, Nick and the others followed.

The fox was nearly blinded once he stepped inside. The vault within was practically glowing as light glinted off all the treasure. The entire room was radiant with stockpiles of artifacts and jewels of all shapes, and sizes. Gold, rubies, sapphires, jade, if there was a shiny rock or metal that was valuable, there was an artifact either made from it, or at the very least encrusted with it. The place was a veritable cornucopia of riches and artifacts, nearly priceless in both material and historical value. Nick had spent his entire life searching for something like this and in any other circumstance, he would've been elated. This would've been enough to not only set him up for life, but to solidify the Wilde legacy in the annals of history.

"Holy shit…" was all he managed to utter.

_Really? You just made one of the single most historic discoveries in mammalian history, and 'holy shit' is the best you got? _

"So much knowledge...so much history…" Judy whispered in awe. "There's so much we could learn here...about who we are...about where we came from."

_Damn, that's way better than mine. _

"Godsdamn, there's enough shiny rocks and swag in here to light up every stripper joint from here all the way to Zootopia to the point where you'd be able to see them from freaking orbit," Finnick colourfully remarked.

_Shit...even Gramps' was better... _

"Well Dante, you did it, you found the treasure. If my paws weren't bound right now, this would be the part where I give you the slow clap," Nick mocked. "Way to go, you've shown what a mammal can accomplish when they have nearly limitless amounts of cash, the willingness to murder their own friends, and an army of expendable grunts. Truly you are an exemplar of the Zootopian dream."

"Interesting little trinkets," Dante said, not sounding even remotely impressed as he looked over the treasure trove. He picked up a golden goblet, a pack of lions carved into the sides alongside glistening sapphires, the money Nick could've made off that single artifact alone probably would've been enough for him to just relax and chill on the Angkor beaches for years. "But I didn't come here for shiny baubles only fit to impress simple minded idiots." The zebra unceremoniously tossed the goblet behind him, it clanged against the ground and rolled to a gradual stop.

"Uhh….okay…" Nick blinked. "Not exactly the reaction I was expecting from finding the Sacred Garden. What, is it not shiny enough for ya? Did you want enough gold and gems to burn out every single retina in the room?"

"You think _this _is the Sacred Garden?" Dante asked. Despite the question, the smug cockiness of his tone made it very obvious he already knew the answer. The confused glances from Nick and the others confirmed it. "So you never figured it out?"

"Uhh...figured what out?"

"You really haven't then…" The zebra shook his head. "I guess you're not the treasure hunter I thought you were, Nick. How disappointing…Seems like you were only good for grunt work after all."

"Can you just go ahead and skip to the part where you shoot us, already?" Finnick barked. "It beats sitting here and listening to your face-bitingly smug ass try to sound clever and cryptic."

_'Face-bitingly smug ass?' I'm guessing Gramps didn't think that one through... _

"Let's just say you didn't steal _all _of my files," Dante said, approaching a wall and tapping it with his hoof.

Nick watched the zebra's ears swivel as he went along the wall, tapping at intervals. After several attempts, his ears flicked up, picking up something Nick was too far away to hear. Although now that he was looking at it, the section of wall Dante was tapping looked different from the rest, the stonework less organized, almost like it had been patched over quickly to hide something...

"This is it," Dante announced, turning around and pointing a hoof at the rhino who had helped pushed the door open earlier. "You, break this wall down."

The rhino looked around in confusion before realizing he was the one Dante was addressing, "Uhh...say what, now?"

The striped equine sighed in annoyance. "Are you deaf _and _stupid? Smash. The. Damn. Wall. Down!" He practically spat out each word. "You have a horn, right? Use it! It's what you're getting paid for."

The rhino blinked in confusion, staring at Dante and then the wall before shrugging at Cackler, uncertain what to do.

"Do it," the hyena nodded. Whatever Dante knew, the merc commander was apparently privy to it as well.

The rhino faced the wall and lowered his head, pawing the ground with his feet and snorting, then charged at it full speed. Nick braced for the worst only to be shocked at the sight of the megafauna smashing right through the wall like it had been made of matchsticks, scattering bits of stone everywhere. Peering through, he could see the rhino picking himself up from inside of a second hidden hallway.

"That what we're looking for?" Cackler asked, looking over at Dante.

"That's it," Dante nodded.

"Alright then, move it out," Cackler ordered.

"But...but…" Tanger stammered, his gaze fixed on all the treasure. "What about all this loot? We're not seriously gonna leave it all behind, are we?"

"Quit your whining, Tanger," Cackler snapped at the antelope. "Got a team already picked out to gather it up later. _This _is our priority."

"Plus, he totally doesn't trust you not to skim some off the top," Baju whispered into his partner's ear at a bafflingly loud volume.

"You know, whispering only works if you do it _quietly_, moron," Cackler growled, eyes narrowed at the cheetah. "But yeah, that's the other issue. Thanks for airing it out in the open like that…"

"Oh…" the cheetah's ears flattened against his head in embarrassment. "Sorry…"

"Blimmin' dompkof," Tanger mumbled as he shoved his partner aside and made his way into the hallway along with everyone else.

"Keep moving," a voice growled from behind as Nick felt a rifle being shoved into his back again.

"Alright, alright, I'm going," he said. "Wouldn't kill you to ask nicely."

Nick's sass was rewarded with another shove that nearly caused him to stumble over, he probably would've fallen over completely if he didn't bounce off the foot of an armoured elephant merc next to him. "Oh yeah, _real _mature." Nick rolled his eyes at his escort.

"Nick, maybe consider _not _antagonizing the mammals holding us at gunpoint," Judy quietly suggested. "You're no good if they just get sick of your 'charm' and just shoot you in the back or break your legs."

"Don't worry, Fluff, they won't kill us unless the bosses order it and breaking our legs would just cause extra problems," Nick assured. "The worst they can do is shove us around if we get too annoying."

The oryx escorting Nick must've interpreted that as a challenge, because he immediately shoved him again, this time Nick did stumble over, crashing face first into the stone floor. "Ow…" he grunted as his muzzle took most of the blow.

"You were saying?" Judy asked rhetorically.

"Kid really knows how to botch the simplest things," Finnick grumbled. "Like, don't give your captor a reason to smack the shit out of you."

"You know what…" Nick mumbled as he felt his escort pick him up and set him back down on his feet. "Think I'll just stay quiet for a bit…"

Unlike the vault, the concealed passageway was shrouded in darkness, illuminated mostly by the mercenaries and their flashlights. As their lights danced across the walls, they illuminated more carvings. Like the ones before, they depicted mammals, but these looked different. They were far more monstrous and feral in appearance, sporting sharp claws and fangs. Even their postures were different, letting out ferocious roars or poised as if they were about to strike. If anything, it almost looked like they were savage.

_What the hell is up with these mammals? And what kind of secret is so important that they have to keep it separate and hidden even though it's already locked up in a freaking vault? _

The hidden passageway opened up to a room similar in size to the treasure vault, although this one was lacking in actual treasure, being far darker and more barren. Various shapes and symbols were lit up by flashlights as the mercs scanned the room, but the fox's attention was drawn to a set of metal doors at the back end of the room, each with a large flower emblazoned on them.

"Get those doors open," Cackler barked. Motioning for the rhino and armoured elephant. They both began pushing but the doors stubbornly refused to budge. Upping the ante, they both threw their weight against the doors, only to bounce off with a loud clang. The doors rattled slightly, but otherwise barely even registered the hit.

The elephant rubbed his arm with his trunk as he glared at the door, his pride looking to have taken most of the blow. "Lousy blimmin' door," he growled in a deep booming voice, gripping his GRLK machine gun tightly and pointing it at the set of doors. "Time to blast this damn thing apart."

"Don't shoot, you damned moron!" Cackler barked at the large mammal. "If your weight wasn't enough, that gun of yours sure as hell won't cut it. Probably would just end up killing half us from the ricochet alone."

The elephant took one look at his boss and stood down, letting out an annoyed snort.

"This isn't one of your typical jobs, you can't just brute force your way through everything." Dante pointed to an upright skeleton pinned to the wall just left of the doors. It was being held in place by a series of spikes protruding from the wall and floor. "Some things need a little more finesse."

The skeleton was a canid of some sort, probably a wolf, given the size. From the tattered clothing it was wearing, it looked like it had been a member of Wilde's crew. As Nick looked at the body, he noticed a small opening in the wall the dead mammal had stuck his arm into.

"What the hell is that?" Tanger asked, poking the skeleton.

"Looks like some sort of test," Cackler observed as he slapped the antelope's arm away. "Don't touch it, by the way."

"Indeed, a test," Dante nodded, reaching for the skeleton's arm. "And this guy clearly failed." He tried to pull the skeletal arm free but was met with resistance, like it was holding onto something. The zebra dug in and tried again, ripped the arm right out of its socket. The spikes suddenly retracted back into the floor and wall and the skeletal wolf collapsed into pieces on the stone floor. "Interesting..." He dropped the arm and it clattered unceremoniously against the stone floor.

"Yeah...real interesting," Nick muttered, glancing around. "Well then…" He started taking gradual steps backwards towards the passageway. "Looks like you guys got this from here, don't really need the three of us anymore. We can tell we're only going to be a nuisance, so we'll just get out of your fur and be on our way."

Nick didn't even have a chance to turn around before he felt his oryx escort grab him by the scruff of his neck and practically throw him forward. It was all he could do to screech to a halt without stumbling over and landing on his face again.

"Or...I guess we can just hang around here…"

"Don't tell me you want to leave already," Dante mocked, pointing a hoof at the fox. "Surely you want to see what lies beyond, no?"

"You mean the Sacred Garden?" Nick asked, briefly glancing at Finnick and Judy. They were lined up with their escorts standing directly behind them, both looking expectantly at Nick. "Honestly, I think we're kinda over it at this point. True treasure being all the friends we made, adventures we had, shit we blew up, you know, that old chestnut."

"Oh don't be so coy, Nick," Dante scoffed. "You know as well as I do that this is about so much more than treasure. We're on the brink of discovering the truth behind one of the greatest mammalian civilizations the world has ever known. The true source of their strength and power. A secret so world-changing, that Sir Francis Wilde himself took it with him to the grave. It's nearly within our grasp, all you need to do is get us through that door."

To Nick's surprise, he felt the oryx behind him cut his bindings loose and push him forward. "You're kidding, right?" the fox asked as he rubbed his now free paws.

Dante just narrowed his gaze at the fox. "Have you ever known me to be the kind to kid around when it comes to a score like this?"

"Nick?" an uncertain Judy called out.

"Don't you do anything for that black, white, and shit all over prick," Finnick barked, getting jostled by his badger guard for his troubles.

"Don't worry, guys," Nick said, chuckling bitterly. "What possible reason does this deranged psycho have to think that I'd ever be willing to help him?"

Dante's reason came in the form of a cocked pistol being leveled at the fox's head, a hooved digit hovering right over the trigger.

"You know...a gun to the head usually makes for a pretty strong argument," Nick responded coolly. "But I gotta say, I'm just not feeling it today. I mean...I'm pretty sure you won't be able to get in there without me...not without running the risk of blowing up that 'garden' and burying yourselves alive, anyways."

"Ever the stubborn fox," Dante said with a snort as he lowered his weapon. "You may be cocky and prideful enough to gamble your own life…"

Out of the corner of his eye, Nick saw Cackler make a signalling motion with his paw. Spinning around, he witnessed in shock as Judy and Finnick's escorts struck them both in the back. They both let out pained cries as they were forced to the ground, a pair of rifles jammed into the back of their heads.

"But I wonder if you're as willing to gamble theirs…" Dante said, his voice as cruel as it was mocking.

Nick's heart raced, tail puffed out and fur standing on end. His eyes frantically darted between just about every mammal in the room as his mind raced to figure something out, anything.

_This is insane! He's gotta be bluffing, right? _

He looked at Dante, the zebra's gaze was sadistic and delighted. The sick bastard was enjoying this.

"What's it going to be, Nick?"

Cackler looked cold, paw held up as he waited to give the signal. Nick tried to figure out if the hyena was bluffing, but his gaze was unreadable. Having lost his patience, the commander's arm began to move.

"Wait!" Nick shouted, paws shooting out. It was enough to make Cackler pause. "Just...wait," Nick repeated in a deflated tone. He turned his gaze towards Dante, shooting him the most bitter glare he could manage. "You win...we'll do this your way...you sick son of a bitch."

"Glad you could be so agreeable," Dante grinned smugly, savouring the moment. He pulled out Sir Francis' journal and tossed it to Nick who caught it in his paws. "Now get to it."

The fox let out a weary sigh "Wonderful…"Holding the journal in one paw he started looking around the room. "Okay, Nick...think. Does any of this look familiar?"

_Not even a little bit. _

"Shit…" The fox approached the set of doors, seeing if anything stood out. Failing that, he checked the pile of bones that had been the last mammal to try their paw at opening the doors. "Probably a switch in there you reached for," he thought aloud. "Not that pulling it seemed to do you any good..."

Staring back at the doors, he noticed something hanging above them; three circular shapes set in a triangle pattern. Each circle was an identical ring divided into segmented symbols.

_Wait a minute...that looks familiar. _Nick started flipping through the journal until he found a drawing of the same rings. _Okay then, Wilde, how did you figure this out? _

Pacing back to the spike trap, Nick noticed a second switch on the adjacent wall. His first instinct told him it was another trap, but he couldn't see any markings or holes where spikes could come through.

_Better make sure before I give it a try. Would really suck if I got this wrong and took a surprise spike up the- _

"You'd better not be stalling," Dante warned, breaking the fox's train of thought.

"Ease up, Stripes," Nick snapped at the zebra. "This may come as a surprise to you, but shit like this takes time. If you want this done, then shut that trap of yours, I can't focus with you yapping."

"Just get it done," Dante growled.

Nick shrugged and started examining the switch again.

_Was snapping at him a smart move? Probably not. Still felt good though, and not like he's going to let us live at the end of all this anyways… _

Letting out a sigh, Nick damned the consequences and pulled the switch. It was probably safe enough, and an impatient Dante was just as deadly as any spike trap.

"What did you just do?" Dante asked, a hint of anxiousness in his voice.

"Not quite sure…" Nick answered. Stone grinded against sone as another pedestal rose out of the ground near the back of the room. "Although I'd guess I just got one step closer to getting those doors open."

Heading to the pedestal, he looked over at Finnick and Judy to see how they were doing. Judy looked anxious, not surprising since she probably hated the idea of being unable to help, but that was something she'd just have to deal with. Finnick had the same grumpy look as always, albeit much worse for the wear, but at least he was still keeping his composure. Nick gave them both a reassuring nod, hoping to convey the message that things were okay for now. Well...relatively okay, more like.

"Don't try anything funny, Wilde," Cackler growled seeming to have noticed Nick's interest in his friends. "Or the three of you will never make it out of this room alive."

_Damn, that guy doesn't miss a beat. _

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Nick said, dismissively waving at the hyena as he looked down at the pedestal. It wasn't that different from the last one he had used, but instead of levers, this one had a brazier in the middle and three dials.

_Guessing these control those rings above the door… _

He tested the dials, and as expected, each one controlled a different ring, rotating in sync with the dial.

_Alright, now how do I know which symbol it's selecting? _

He looked at the symbols and then down at the brazier. From what he could tell, there was oil inside of it. Looking closer, he saw that it was built into the pedestal itself, lacking a visible bottom. There were also markings leading all the way down from the brazier itself and across the floor towards the back wall. As he started at the markings, it dawned on him what they were hinting at.

"I need a lighter."

"What?" Dante questioned.

"A lighter, come on." Nick stuck a paw out expectantly, only to be met with tense silence and awkward stares from every other mammal in the room.

"Really? Nobody?" Nick asked, searching for volunteers and finding none. "Gramps should have one, grab his."

Cackler nodded at Tanger to grab the lighter, and Nick couldn't help but feel like the mere suggestion of it had caused the prey mammals bandaged muzzle to start bleeding again. As Tanger looked down at the small fox, Finnick just looked back and angrily bared his teeth at the mercenary.

"Get near me again and I'll bite the rest of that face of yours off-" Finnick's threat was cut short as Baju's paw wrapped around his muzzle, forcing it shut.

"Huh, so you do have a brain after all." Tanger bent down and reached into Finn's pocket, rifling through and pulling out a small metal lighter. "You really should try using it more often."

When Baju finally released his grip on Finnick, the fox glared back at the cheetah but made no move. As pissed as he probably was, he still knew better than to try anything.

With a snort, Tanger threw the lighter to Nick. The fox nearly stumbled as he grabbed for it with both paws, the mercenary having thrown it far harder than necessary. Nick wouldn't have been surprised if the larger mammal had been hoping to nail him in the face, he was certainly the type.

"Very energetic throw," Nick noted sarcastically as he flicked on the lighter and ignited the brazier.

A small gout of fire shot up as Nick heard the flames moving down below him and up into the back wall. Three holes in the back lit up, creating beams of light that illuminated the topmost symbol on each of the rings above the doors.

"Okay, got that part taken care of," the fox said as he glanced back at the journal page. In addition to the drawings of the rings, there were two symbols displayed at the center of the page.

"Two symbols," Nick noted. "Just need to match those up with the...wait a minute...two?"

_There should be three... _

He double checked the page, flipping to adjacent ones as well to see if he was missing anything. But there was nothing, no extra symbols, no other pictures, not even a written hint, just the two on the page.

_Shit...he never finished this one… _

A wave of dread washed over the fox, but he was quick to push it down.

_Okay, okay, take it easy. Freaking out will get you killed even faster. This just means you improvise a bit, you can do that. Can't have Sir Francis always holding your paw. Should be a piece of cake...right? _

Nick couldn't help but glance at the pile of bones next to the doors.

_That guy would probably say otherwise if he hadn't been turned into a pincushion. _

"Alright then, guess I'll start with what I know…" Nick cracked his knuckles and began turning the dials, rotating the bottom two rings so that the symbols matched the journal. "Two down...now to figure out what the hell the third one is…"

_Two on the bottom, one on the top...could they be related in some way? _

Nick began manipulating the top dial, cycling through symbols as he tried to interpolate the correct one. "If they're related...then that means no repeats, so that'd eliminate two of them…" he continued, thinking out loud. "Still leaves me with some _very _high odds of getting skewered…"

"There a problem, Nick?" Dante barked at him, the zebra steadily losing his patience. "Seriously, move it along already."

"Lay off, would you? I'm trying to concentrate," Nick fired back. "I only get one shot at this, or did you miss the part where the last guy got turned into a wolf-kebab?"

"You'll find yourself wishing that's what happened to you and your friends if you don't hurry it up!" Dante threatened.

"He's already doing his best to figure it out, Dante," Judy chimed in. "You're not going to get anywhere by tossing out pointless threats."

"Don't bother telling him that," Finnick grumbled. "Dante's the kind of guy who thinks his toaster will cook the bread faster if he threatens it enough."

"Quiet, both of you!" Dante snapped at them.

"Thank you, Gramps, thank you Carrots, I've got it from here," Nick said, silencing the argument with a half-hearted wave as he flipped through the journal. If he could translate the two known symbols meant, it might give him a better idea of the third one.

"Okay, let's see, the left symbol is...associated with a structure? No, more like...a group of structures...city maybe?" He looked at a page showing a map of the known world. It had no names, just symbols that represented the different cities and regions. On an island in the middle of the ocean was the same symbol as the one meant for the left ring. "Not just a city...it's _the _city...Henosia."

_Now time for the other one. _

As he continued flipping through the journal, he found the other symbol coming up in pages containing powerful looking mammals and warriors. "Strength, maybe?" As he kept looking, he began to notice the symbol didn't seem to emphasize individual mammals, but groups of them. "Not just strength...but group dominance. Like...power, or might?"

Having what he hoped was a good enough estimate of what the two symbols represented, Nick started rotating the top circle, checking each symbol for a meaningful connection. "Okay...so something relating to Henosia...and...power...or might."

He kept moving the ring until it highlighted a flower, the familiar image causing something to click in the fox's mind. The flower was more than just a symbol to Henosia. They wouldn't have revered a simple symbol so strongly, not to the point where it was worshiped more than the gods themselves. There was more to it, these flowers weren't just symbolically important, they played a much bigger role than that.

_These white...night howlers? They're the source of Henosia's might? Is that what this riddle is getting at? _

"Is that it?" Dante asked. "You got it figured out?"

Nick stared at the flower, blinking as he considered the possibility he could be wrong. He'd only get one shot at this, but then again, testing Dante's dwindling patience wasn't exactly a viable alternative. "Only one way to find out." Nick finally answered, returning to the doors.

Just as he was about to reach into the hole and pull whatever that dead mammal had been messing around with, he looked back at Dante. "Unless you'd rather do the honours. You know...since this is _your _big moment and all. I'm apparently just here for the 'grunt work.'"

The zebra just gave the fox an annoyed glare as he impatiently tapped his hoof.

"Yeah, didn't think so." Turning back, Nick took a deep breath as he reached inside. "Alright then, pal, just what were you reaching for back here?" He pawed around in the darkness, finding the sensation rather unnerving. "Ugh, why does it feel slimy?" Fighting off a shudder, he kept going until he grasped what felt like a lever. "Got something!"

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Dante urged. "Go on and pull it."

"Yeah, sure Stripes, no biggy," Nick mumbled to himself, rolling his eyes. "Not like you're the one risking his life or anything." The fox braced himself to take the metaphorical leap. "Gods, please let this work…"

Nick pulled on the switch with a loud snap, his fur standing on end as he tensed up, half expecting to acquire an unhealthy amount of rusty piercings. Instead, he was treated to the sound of clunking stone and gears as the doors slowly began to swing open with a metallic screech.

Everybody looked on, breaths collectively held in anticipation as they waited to see what was on the other side. When the doors finally opened and all they saw was a dimly lit hallway, the room erupted in groans of irritation and complaints.

"You've gotta be kidding me..."

"Another blimmin' hallway?"

"How long does this damn thing go on for?"

"We're not getting paid enough for this shit…"

"Quit your whining, what are you all, bunnies or something?" Cackler cut in, silencing the crowd and getting a very pointed look from Judy. "We good here, Dante?"

"Yeah," Dante nodded. "I think we're _more _than good."

"Alright then," Cackler pointed to Nick's guard. "Get Wilde bound and back with the others, don't want him trying anything."

"Really? Back in the zip ties again?" Nick objected as the oryx forcibly grabbed his arms, folding them behind his back and binding his paws together. "Aren't I at least entitled to a little freebie or something for getting that door open?"

"Of course," Dante said. "Why do you think we haven't shot you yet?"

"Oh gee, thanks a lot," Nick grumbled as the merc shoved him back to Judy and Finnick.

"This is the part where you reveal your master plan, right?" Judy whispered to Nick as they were forced to follow the group.

"Just be ready to move," Nick whispered back. "You'll know it when it happens."

"'Know it when it happens?'" the bunny questioned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means he's got nothing," Finnick answered.

"What? No, not _nothing_, Gramps," Nick objected. "I'm...just making it up as I go."

"Are you kidding me?" the reporter whispered frustratedly. "That's not a plan, that's what you always do."

"And it always works," Nick tried to point out. "...Okay, maybe not always." There was a sharp spike of pain in his back as he was hit by the butt of a rifle.

"No talking," the oryx merc ordered. "Just shut up and keep moving."

As they moved into the new hallway, Nick started trying to put together some sort of escape plan, looking around for anything that might give them the slightest opportunity to take advantage of. The only reason they were still alive was in case there were more obstacles or traps for Nick to figure out. The minute Dante found whatever he was looking for, Nick and his friends were as good as dead. They needed a way out before that happened, but he was drawing a blank.

_Come on brain...don't crap out on me now! Think!_

_*Click*_

The sudden noise caught the fox's attention. Ears flicking as he looked for the source, he noticed a lion stepping on one of the floor tiles, causing it to sink. The feline mercenary just looked down in confusion.

"What's that?" a nearby jackal asked.

"No clue," the lion answered. "Probably loose or something, ei?"

There was the sound of clunking metal, stone and ancient machinery churning. Something had been activated. Faced with a possible opportunity, Nick looked around the room for any clues as to what it could mean. At first, he didn't see anything useful on the walls, they were all just lined with mammal statues, but as he looked again, he noticed something different about them. There were holes, a lot of holes, the walls were littered with them.

_Wait a minute_, Nick began to realize.

_Long hallway...lots of holes...weird gear noises...and a pressure sensitive tiles...that means...shit, no time to think, just run! _

"Now!" Nick blurted out, charging forward and hoping the others would catch on.

"Hey!" the oryx shouted in alarm. "Sto- Hrrrk!" the mercenary's order viciously interrupted as he was struck by the first of many darts now flying out of the walls.

"Ambush!" somebody yelled as all hell broke loose. The situation rapidly deteriorated into a frenzied mess of shouting, cries of pain, and gunfire as mammals either went down in a flurry of darts, tried to find cover, or just fired blindly at the walls in the hope it would somehow stop the madness.

"Ha! And to think Dante kept us alive to prevent this kind of shit from happening," Nick laughed as he charged forward, ducking out of the way of distracted mercenaries and flying darts. As hard as it was to do with his paws bound behind his back, he was managing somehow. Being one of the smaller mammals certainly gave him an edge, making him a harder target for the darts than most of the others in the hallway.

"I'll appreciate the irony when we're not about to be murdered!" Finnick yelled, racing to keep pace with Nick.

"Please tell us you actually have an idea of where we're going," Judy shouted.

"Away from all the psycho mercs for starters!" Nick answered. "Haven't really thought past that." As they ran, Nick briefly glimpsed Dante and Cackler, both yelling at each other and using a badly wounded rhino as a shield against the darts. He quickly shook his head, they'd have to worry about those two later. For now, they needed to focus on getting the hell out of here without getting nailed by darts.

"Almost there!" Nick yelled as they approached the end of the hallway. "Just a little- _shit! _" He cried out in surprise as the floor opened up right beneath their feet, sending all three of them plummeting into a dimly lit room down below.

The fox painfully crashed on his side against the stone floor, feeling his bindings snap from the impact as Finnick and Judy both fell next to him, each letting out pained grunts of their own as they landed. All the while, the sounds of frantic shouting, gunfire, and flying darts raged on above.

"Why do all the best options hurt so much?" Nick groaned as he pulled himself up. He noticed the remains of several mammals, Blackhorn soldiers from what he could tell of their uniforms. Their bones and armour had been reduced to shattered fragments. It was apparent the three of them hadn't been the first to fall for this trap.

"You guys okay?" Nick asked as he started cutting Judy and Finn's bindings.

"Almost wish I was still writing parking tickets…" Judy grumbled as she rolled over, rubbing her wrists and arms as she slowly got up. "A lot less time spent getting shot at and falling on my face."

The room suddenly started to dim to the noise of grinding gears and moving metal above. All three mammals craned their heads up, seeing the opening they had fallen through begin to shrink as four metal slabs converged together.

"Oh, you have _got _to be kidding me," Judy shouted as the metal pieces connected, sealing them inside.

"Relax, Fluff, could be worse, right?" Nick said with a nervous chuckle.

_*Shunk!* _

Nick's rhetorical question was answered as a set of metal spikes came out of the ceiling. As soon as they were fully extended, the ceiling began to slowly descend. "Okay, that's worse…"

"Do me a favour, Kid," Finnick growled as he stared at the spike-covered ceiling. "The next time you get it in your head to try and rescue me, don't. I think I was safer with Coastline…"

"Spikes…" Nick muttered, not paying the old fox any attention. "I _hate _spikes…"

"Uhh...guys?" Judy cut in. "Ideas?"

"We need to find a way out of here, fast!" Nick answered, doing his best to resist the urge to panic.

"Oh, really?" Finnick growled. "I was thinking we just wait and see what happens, maybe we'll like being hole punched pancakes!" He pointed to the skeletal remains. "These guys certainly don't seem to mind."

"Not helping, Gramps," Nick shouted back, eyes frantically darting around for some sort of solution.

"Speak for yourself," the desert fox grumbled as he picked up a discarded sword off the ground and carried it to one of the walls. Wondering what he was up to, Nick noticed a set of ancient gears turning just as Finnick raised the sword and jammed it between them. The gears stubbornly tried to keep turning, but the sword managed to effectively jam them and they ground to a halt, the ceiling screeching as it ceased its descent. "See? At least _I'm _doing something."

"Okay, that'll buy us some time," Nick said. A loud snap assaulted his ears as the sword suddenly shattered beneath the weight of the gears and the ceiling started descending again. "Or not…"

"Well…" Finnick shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea…"

"Yeah, well good intentions don't really matter to freaking spike traps!" Nick snapped.

"Guys, shut up and look," Judy waved them over to an old grating at the center of the room. "We can get out this way if we smash it open."

"We don't even know where it goes," Nick argued.

"Do you seriously think it'd be worse than staying here with _that _thing?" Judy shouted back, pointing up at the ceiling spikes gradually getting closer.

"Okay, fair point." Nick looked around for something to smash the grate open with. Spotting a piece of armour that wasn't too large, he quickly grabbed it and started swinging it against the metal grating.

Judy and Finnick both joined in, grabbing pieces of shattered armour and frantically bashing them against the grate, the metal structure bending and crumpling beneath their onslaught.

"Faster guys," Judy urged.

"Going as fast as I can, bunny," Finnick snapped back, furiously bashing away.

"Think it's almost done," Nick shouted as they kept bashing until the grate finally gave in and fell loose, falling into the darkness below. "Got it!"

"Jump!" Judy yelled, she and Finnick both leaping into the abyss.

Nick looked up one last time and immediately regretted it, the ceiling spikes now literal inches away from his face.

"Shit!"

The fox didn't even look, just throwing himself backwards into the hole and the darkness within.

* * *

_AN: Damn, Nick, Judy, and Finn just bounce from one bad spot to the next. But hey, better than being held at gunpoint...right? Anyways, I'll be getting to work on the next chapter. Until next time, Sic Parvis Magna (I've been saying that at the end of every post on AO3, so figured I should start doing it here as well. Hey, better late than never, right? :D )_


	22. Rock Bottom

_AN: Hey there! Hi there! It's time for yet another chapter for your collective viewing pleasure! Hit a few hurdles along the way (seems to happen a lot these days), but haven't let them stop me from finishing this story so far, and I don't intend to let them stop me anytime soon._

_Anyway, on with the adventure!_

* * *

"Nick?" a voice called out through the darkness. "Nick, you there?"

It took a moment for Nick to recognize Judy's voice. She must've landed in a different spot than he did. The fall had been a pretty rough one for him, but he wasn't about to let her worry. No, his answer would be one that inspired confidence, that would assure the bunny everything would be alright. He opened his mouth, ready to let the inspiration flow.

"Ow…"

That...didn't sound inspirational at all.

"That's him!" Judy sounded concerned. "Do you think he's hurt? Did something bad happen in the fall?"

Nope, definitely not the confidence he was hoping for.

"Ah, I wouldn't worry, bunny. If he can whine about it, then he's probably fine," a much gruffer voice responded, Finn's maybe? "Hey, Kid! Quit screwing around and tell us where you are." Yup, definitely Finn.

"Over here," Nick called out.

Finn was right...mostly...He was pretty certain he didn't break anything, but he sure as hell felt like shit between the nasty fall and all the beatings he had taken throughout the day. Once this was all over, he'd need one hell of a vacation. "Took a bad tumble...or five…"

Finnick let out an irritated sigh, "I can't see him. Can you, bunny?"

"Why would I be able to see him if you can't, Finn?" Judy pointed out. "I'm not nocturnal."

"Figured as much," the desert fox grunted. "Got a flashlight?"

"I did until Tanger took it along with my pen."

"Oh, right…Wait, what about my lighter?"

"Oh yeah, Nick had that," Judy noted excitedly. "Hey, Nick! If you can hear us and aren't too horribly injured, then turn on Finn's lighter so we can find you." As nice as it was that the reporter wasn't as worried now, Nick couldn't help but feel a little deflated at her rather fleeting concern.

"Got it," the fox groaned, reaching into his pocket. Shrugging off the soreness permeating his body, he pulled out his mentor's lighter and flicked it on, holding the light as high as he could.

"There, I see him!" Judy called out, the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps following.

With a groan, Nick rolled over to get a better look, looking up to see Judy and Finnick staring down at him. The bunny still looked a bit concerned, ears wilting slightly, while Finnick just looked mildly annoyed. If nothing else, it probably meant Nick didn't look _too _bad.

"You okay, Nick?" Judy asked.

"There's no Nick…" the red fox groaned. "Only pain…"

Finnick rolled his eyes. "Alright 'Pain,' whenever you're done being a drama queen, we'll be here and ready to actually get shit done."

Judy shot the smaller fox a disapproving glare. "What?" Finnick shrugged dismissively, although Nick could swear he saw him shrink away from the rabbit just a bit. "If I can still walk after all the shit I went through, he can handle a little drop."

"Your concern is always appreciated, Gramps," Nick said with a sigh as he sat up, trying to get a better look at wherever they had ended up. He could see the outlines of some walls, but from where he was sitting, it was too dark to make anything out beyond that.

"I'll save the concern for something a bit more noteworthy than your whining." Finnick grabbed Nick's paw and helped him up. "Now quit being a pansy, we gotta get moving before those Coastline pricks figure out what the hell happened and come looking for us."

"You really think they still care about us?" Judy questioned. "They've got to be stretching their resources pretty thin by now. They'd probably just focus on getting out of here with the treasure."

"No, Gramps is right," Nick said as he finished getting up and brushed off his jeans. "Dante and Cackler aren't going to just forget about us, not if they think we still might crash their party. Besides, I'm not so sure the treasure is what they're looking for."

"They didn't seem very interested in what they found in the vault, did they?" the reporter pondered. "If they're not here for the treasure, then what _are_ they after?"

"Whatever it is, it sure as hell ain't something worth getting killed over," Finnick argued. "To hell with them and to hell with whatever they're looking for. The only thing that should matter to us is finding a way off this damn rock before it winds up being our tomb."

"Well, we can't go back." Judy looked back up at the grating they had fallen through. Even through the darkness, they could see several spikes from the roof trap sticking through. "Our only option is to keep going forward."

"Right," Nick nodded as he started looking around. "Quick question...which way is forward?"

"Over here," Finnick waved the fox and rabbit over to a narrow passageway leading deeper into the city underground. "Spotted it earlier, but the bunny wanted to find you first."

"Any idea where it goes?" Nick asked, stepping in front with the lighter.

"Not a clue," Finnick shrugged. "But it beats sitting around on our tails."

"Yeah, I guess it does..." Nick sighed, pressing further into the passage.

The passage itself didn't seem like an actual hallway, the stone was too curved and natural, and from what Nick could tell, there weren't any carvings or pictures. He wouldn't have been surprised if this was a natural cave that had just been built over during the city's construction.

"I can barely see a thing down here," Judy said, paws out in front of her as she felt her way forward

"Just stay close, bunny," Finnick responded, grabbing the rabbit's arm. "Don't wander off and we should be good, assuming the Kid doesn't get us lost."

"Hey, have some faith, Gramps," Nick said. "Remember, I'm the reason Coastline hasn't put a hole in your skull yet."

"No, that's because some Coastline idiot set off a trap," the older fox countered. "You, on the other paw, got us stuck down here because you just started running like a maniac without a plan and dropped us into a different trap."

"Still better than getting shot by Coastline," Nick argued. "Besides, with a city this old and labyrinthine, there's gotta be a way out, we just need to find it."

"I'll believe it when I see it," Finnick grumbled.

"It's fine if you don't," Nick said with a smirk. "Makes it all the sweeter when I prove you wrong and get to rub my sweet, sweet victory in your aaaand it's a dead end…" the fox trailed off, now staring at a wall blocking off the rest of the passage.

"You wanna finish that thought, Kid?" Finnick growled. "Cause it seems like this passage turned into a damn bust."

"Must've sealed this area off at some point," Nick sighed. "We'll have to double back and see if we can find another way out." The two foxes turned around and started heading back the way they came.

"Guys, wait!" Judy called out, causing both of them to screech to a halt. Her gaze was locked on the dead end, ears twitching as they focused on something. "I can hear wind blowing."

"Wind?" Nick stepped in closer, ears swivelling towards the wall. He started to pick up the sound of a gust. A faint one, but it was there. "She's right. I can hear it too."

Finnick leaned in, his large ears flicking as he listened in. "I'm feeling a breeze here. There's something on the other side." The desert fox started pressing his weight against the wall, glancing at the other two with an irritated look as they just stared. "What? You idiots expecting my half-beaten-to-a-pulp ass to do all the work? Come on! Help me push!"

Nick and Judy jumped in, pushing against the wall as hard as they could. Nick could hear the stone starting to shift as the wall began to give way, pressing outwards bit by bit. The fox assumed they'd just be able to gradually shove the stones out, which was why he was rather shocked when the entire wall fell outwards and they all stumbled over, falling on top of the pile of collapsed stone as a small dust cloud was kicked up.

"Eep!" Judy squeaked in surprise. "Is everyone alright?"

"That...could've gone a lot better," Finnick coughed, pawing away the dust. "Think I pulled something…"

"Hey, found a way out and didn't get crushed," Nick said. "Given everything we've been through, I'm fine with calling that a win."

"That's why it's such a pain in the ass going anywhere with you, Kid," Finnick grumbled. "Ya just keep lowering the bar until we reach the point where 'not getting killed or horribly maimed' is somehow considered a win."

"I like to think of it as seeing the positive in everything, Gramps," Nick said with a smirk.

As the trio picked themselves up, they found themselves in a dimly lit room. There were scattered pieces of pottery and stone chunks littering the floor that looked like they had once fit together, likely the remnants of some ancient furniture.

"Okay, not exactly what I was expecting…"

"Looks like some sort of ancient housing," Judy suggested, glancing at all the cracked debris. "Do you think mammals lived down here?"

"If this was the Zootopia of the ancient world, they'd need some sort of Nocturnal district, right?" Nick theorized. "What better place for nocturnal mammals than beneath the city?"

"As uninteresting as all that crap is..." Finnick interrupted, pointing across the room. "I'm more interested in whatever the hell is up with _them_."

"Whatever's up with wh- oh…" Nick started before realizing Finnick was pointing out several skeletal mammals. They were dressed in ancient chainmail and plate armour, sabres still gripped in their paws. One was an ungulate and two were predators, one large and one small.

"Are those more of Wilde's mammals?" Judy asked. "Because that doesn't look like Blackhorn armour."

"Those are definitely Wilde's guys," Nick confirmed, kneeling down to look. "The hell were they doing all the way down here?" He noticed the ungulate holding a roll of paper. Carefully reaching for it, he pulled the paper out of the mammal's grip and unravelled it.

"What's it say, Kid?"

The ink on the scroll was faded, but it was legible enough for the vulpine to read out loud with some effort.

_"Salvation lies within the temple summit." _

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" Finnick asked, head tilted in confusion.

"Probably another one of Wilde's riddles," Nick guessed, folding up the scroll and placing it in his satchel.

"Maybe a hint about where we are?" Judy suggested. "Or how to get out of here?"

"More likely some pointless clue leading to the treasure," Finnick answered. "Not that any of that shit matters since _we _need to focus on getting the hell out of here!" The desert fox spat on the ground and started heading towards the exit doorway at the other end of the room.

"Come on, Gramps, don't be so quick to dismiss a lead," Nick responded, following the desert fox through the doorway. "Figuring out that riddle might give us a better idea of how...to...woah…" What awaited the fox outside left him speechless.

The three of them stood on the very edge of a massive underground cavern unlike anything they had ever seen. Even the network of the Nocturnal Fortress didn't compare to the size of this place.

"Okay…" Finnick started, gazing at the cavern in stunned awe. "That's big…"

The walls of the cavern were littered with countless housings just like the one they had exited, with even more built into the stalactites and stalagmites of the cavern. Large networks of stairs, platforms, and walkways linked them together, or more accurately, what was left of them seeing as much of the network was either in various states of decayed ruin or had completely fallen apart. The mix of natural and artificial structures gave a hybrid appearance that was in keeping with the fusion of natural and mammal made structures that had been so prevalent in the more intact parts of the city. The cavern itself was surprisingly well lit as rays of light poured through large holes in the ceiling. At this point, however, it was hard to say whether those gaps were part of the city design, or had formed on their own.

"I didn't think a district like this was even possible," Judy said as she gawked at the stalactites and walkway networks above. "Even Zootopia's engineers wouldn't be able to create something on this scale. The entire city would've sunk into the ocean if they tried."

"Henosia's engineers were unparalleled for their time," Nick pointed out. "And since most of the knowledge in this city was lost, they could've had access to techniques that we don't. That or there could be something unique about the structure of this island."

"More likely they were just prideful idiots who didn't stop to think if making a city on this scale was a good idea," Finnick growled. "Look." The old fox pointed towards a massive chasm that had swallowed up a large section of the cavern. Parts of the network had clearly broken away and fallen in, evidenced by all the broken ruins right on the chasm's edge. It went so far down that light couldn't reach the bottom, making it resemble an endless void.

"Oh wow…" Nick's tail and ears twitched as he stared into it, a pit starting to form in his stomach. "That doesn't seem very stable does it?"

"Certainly helps to explain why half the city looks like it's on the brink of collapsing into the bay," Judy noted. "And can't imagine Coastline's explosives have been good for the city's stability either."

A muffled blast rang out as if on cue, echoing throughout the cavern. The ground all around them rumbled softly before coming to a gradual stop.

"Speak of the devil…" Finnick growled.

"Looks like Coastline's gone back to blasting their way through to that 'garden,' whatever it is…" Nick speculated, glancing up at the cavern ceiling.

"Wait, seriously?" Judy asked, ears stiffening in mild alarm. "Didn't you say they couldn't do that? Not without running the risk of destroying the garden and burying themselves alive?"

"What?" Nick looked down at the bunny in confusion. "No, Carrots, I was bluffing. Of course they can do that, it certainly wasn't stopping them earlier. I'd think you'd realize by now that risk-averse doesn't really describe those guys."

Another muffled blast rang through the cavern and the ground started rumbling again. This time, they heard stone beginning to crack as well. Up on the cavern ceiling, a large stalactite covered in half ruined walkways and built in housing started to shift, a crack line forming around the base. The walkway remnants broke away followed by the stalactite itself as it fractured and tore loose from the cavern ceiling. The massive hybrid of natural rock and housing plummeted to the cavern floor and collided with a thunderous shattering of stone.

"Holy shit!" Nick yelled as the reverberating tremors of the impact nearly knocked him off his feet.

"Crackling cauliflower!" Judy gasped, stumbling and nearly falling over.

To make matters worse, the cavern floor beneath the impact started to split apart, a sinkhole forming as what was left of the structure fractured and fell in, disappearing into the yawning darkness. The new sinkhole started to expand, pulling in nearby stone and structures before things finally settled down and turned silent again.

"Okay, that's it, I've just about had it with this damned place," Finnick said, scowling at the scene. "Between Coastline and all the shit this city keeps throwing at us, does everything on this godsdamn island want us dead?"

"Everything? Probably not," Nick answered with a gulp. "Although it does seem like we've overstayed our welcome."

"Definitely thinking it's time we left," Judy started looking around. "But...uh...which way do we go?"

"I'm gonna guess...that way." Nick pointed to a tall building built into the side of the cavern wall with several connecting walkways and sporting a giant bat statue in front, one that looked very similar to the metal statue in the chamber where he and Judy had opened the entrance to the treasure vault. "That note said 'salvation' lies at the temple's summit, and that sure as hell looks like the Nocturnal district's temple."

"But we don't even know what Wilde meant by 'salvation,'" Judy pointed out. "It could be just about anything."

"It's a lead, which is more than what we had ten minutes ago," the treasure hunter argued. "I don't know about you, but when it comes to being stuck in a giant cavern barely holding together, I'd rather have a destination in mind as opposed to fumbling around in the dark."

"Fair point..." Judy acknowledged. "Alright then, let's go see what 'salvation' lies up there."

The three of them started carefully working their way up the walkways connecting the various buildings and cavern structures. Despite sticking to the more stable parts of the cavern, all it really amounted to was their path being of slightly less questionable stability, with many of the pathways still looking like they could give out at any moment. All the while, muffled blasts could be heard in the distance, a reminder that Coastline was still out there and could very easily ruin their day even more. Given how the sound was bouncing around the cavern though, it wasn't clear how close they actually were.

As the trio followed the safest, or more accurately, relatively safest path, they saw that many of the buildings and walkways were littered with the remains of ancient mammals. Most of them too decayed at this point to really discern anything beyond their size.

"I wonder what happened to them…"

"Hmm?" Nick glanced at the bunny.

"Those mammals," Judy clarified, pointing at some nearby skeletons laying against a building wall. "Something terrible happened to them when this city fell. We may not know what it was, but I can still only imagine what horrors those mammals experienced before they met their end." The rabbit's ears drooped behind her as voice took on a more remorseful tone.

"I don't know," Nick answered. "If this city's fall was as violent as all the bodies we've been seeing would imply, then I can't imagine it was pretty."

"Kid, bunny, focus! We haven't got much time," Finnick cut in. "Besides, those assholes have all been dead for gods' knows how long now, I very much doubt they care what some reporter and a pair of treasure hunters think about how they bit the dust."

"They're still mammals, Finn," Judy argued. "It doesn't matter how long ago they died, they deserve some respect."

"Listen bunny, in my line of work, you don't waste time respecting the dead, not if you wanna last," Finnick retorted. "Dwelling on the dead is a good way to end up joining them."

As the two argued, Nick's attention began to wander. A familiar feeling of tension had begun crawling up his fur once again. With all the recent chaos, he had been thoroughly distracted from it, but down here in the darkness, it had returned with a vengeance. He couldn't shake the feeling there was something out there, lurking in the shadows and watching them. It almost felt like he could sense it. If only he could get a glimpse of whatever it was...

"Hey, Kid, you there?"

"Huh? What, Gramps?"

"What do you mean, 'what, Gramps?'" Finnick snapped at the younger fox. "I'm talking to you here, what the hell is up with the thousand yard stare?"

Nick blinked and rubbed his muzzle, realizing he had been staring into the abyss of the cavern crevasse. He wasn't even sure how long he'd been staring, but apparently it was enough for Finn and Judy to notice. He must've really been out of it.

"Is everything alright, Nick?" Judy asked, looking up at the fox in concern for not the first time.

"I…"

"Ah, he's fine," Finnick interrupted. "Probably just dwelling on some pointless shit when he _should _be focused on getting outta here like the rest of us."

"Yeah, right," Nick said, trying to shake off the chills still permeating his senses. "Just nerves, probably. I'll be better when we get to the surface. Not much of a fan of being so far underground is all. Feels like we're in a tomb."

"Yeah..." Judy nodded nervously. "Bunnies may be burrowers, but even this is a bit too far down for my tastes. And all the dead bodies certainly aren't helping..."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, this place sucks," Finnick snapped. "And I already used the tomb line, so quit stealing my lines and let's get going already!"

As they worked their way further up the network of walkways towards the temple, a particularly heavy blast caused the whole cavern to shake again. The three of them froze up as the walkway started to sway and tremble.

"Please tell me this doesn't end with the walkway collapsing and us having to make a mad leap to avoid plummeting to our deaths," Judy said nervously, her body tensed up in preparation for said mad leap if necessary.

Nick was frozen with anticipation, nervous that a single misstep might bring them all crashing down. "Not just yet, it seems," Nick answered after things seemed to calm down. "Better get moving before that ends up being the case. Feel like we've had enough near death experiences to last a lifeti-"

_*Crack!* _

Up above a large chunk of stone split away from the cavern roof and began hurtling right towards them.

"Nevermind, Fluff called it! Jump!" Nick shouted, throwing himself towards the roof of a house built into an adjacent stalactite and managing to grasp its edge firmly enough with both paws.

With a deafening crash, the debris smashed into the walkway, splitting it apart and sending it crashing down towards the cavern floor.

"Shit, that was close," Nick gasped, glancing down at the shattered walkway. "Everyone good?"

"I'm okay," Judy called out, waving at Nick from the roof of the building opposite of him.

"Welp, it went like you said," Nick said, shooting a weary smile at the bunny. "Nice call."

"Thanks...I guess?" Judy responded, head tilted at the bizarre compliment. "What about Finn?"

"Not dead yet, despite this damned city's best efforts," Finnick grumbled, hanging off the edge of the same building as Nick. "Really wish I had just blown this job off and chased some tail on the beaches of literally anywhere else."

"Don't worry, Gramps, there'll be plenty of beaches and tail for you to chase and pity into giving you a shot once we're out of here," Nick joked. He pulled himself up onto the roof of the building and then reaching over to help his partner. "So...how do we get to that temple now?"

"There's another walkway up above that looks like it leads straight into one of the higher levels of the temple," Judy noted, pointing at the walkway in question. "You guys up for some climbing?"

"What, you mean scaling up an ancient and highly unstable cavern system on the brink of total collapse?" Nick responded rhetorically. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"I'd say you're tempting fate, Slick," Judy said with a smirk. "But knowing our luck, it'd probably end up happening either way."

"If you two are quite done with the flirting, we should really be hauling ass before any more of this cavern craps out on us," Finnick cut in, rolling his eyes.

"Right...right," Judy muttered, a pink glow starting to appear inside her ears. "So wanna lend me that grappling hook of yours? Still need to get over to you guys."

"Like you even have to ask, Fluff," Nick grinned as he pulled the hook out and tossed it around a stalactite hanging above them, throwing the rope over for Judy who managed to effortlessly grab it and swing back.

"Seriously can't believe they didn't take that from you..." Finnick grumbled as Nick pulled the hook loose and gathered up the rope. "I know it's kind of redundant to say at this point, but godsdamn are those Coastline bunch some grade A dumbasses."

"Guess they figured I couldn't do anything with bound paws," Nick shrugged, turning around to look at the massive stalactite the building was built into and then back at Finn. "Need a paw up?"

"Naw, I'll manage, don't need you coddling me, Kid," Finnick answered. He leaped up and grabbed the lowest ledge, but not before letting out a pained yelp.

"What was that?" Nick asked in a mocking tone.

"Nothing…"

Nick raised an eyebrow at the desert fox dangling just above. "Certainly didn't sound like nothing."

"It was a grunt," Finn lied. "A masculine one too, not some pansy ass yelp. And if you don't want a foot up your ass, you won't argue otherwise"

"Finn, come on, you're injured," Judy cut in from the ledge above. "Few other mammals would still even be standing after what you've been through, you don't need to act so tough, you've already proven it." She leaned down to offer the grizzled fox a paw. "Don't be too proud to accept help."

"Back off, I'm fine!" Finnick growled in annoyance, shoving the offered paw away. "The next one of you that tries to lend a paw gets their face bitten off. I can take care of myself."

"Just leave it be, Carrots, it's a pride thing for him," Nick assured the rabbit. "I'll step in if he gets in any real trouble."

"I can still hear you," Finnick snapped at the red fox.

"I know," Nick replied with a smirk. He moved to start climbing up only to get knocked back as a foot connected with his muzzle. It wasn't a serious hit, but it still smarted just enough to make him stumble a bit.

"You also know you're in the path of my foot?" Finnick asked rhetorically as he started making his way further up.

Nick rubbed at the sore spot on his muzzle as he followed behind. "I do now…"

The group gradually made their way up the stalactite, climbing from ledge to ledge as they scaled the buildings and structural supports. Eventually, they reached a suspended walkway, separated by a gap. It wasn't the one they wanted, but it would at least get them a bit closer before they'd have to start climbing again.

"Should be an easy swing across," Judy observed.

"Yup, piece of cake," Nick nodded, spying a support beam hanging over the gap that would be just perfect. "Stand back and watch."

"Oh, I'm watching," Judy replied smugly.

Nick spun the hook as he prepared to throw. Just as he was about to release it, he was caught off guard by movement in the shadows. Eyes darting to track it, he stared up at one of the dark corners of the cavern ceiling, scanning for whatever it was, but all he saw were ancient stones and shadows. "The hell?" He blinked in confusion, not sure if he had even seen anything at all.

"Nick!" Judy called.

"Quit spacing out and throw the damn rope already," Finnick barked.

Nick shook his head, snapping back to the moment. "Right, right, throwing." He hastily threw the hook, missing the mark as it sailed right beneath the support beam. Nick gripped the rope tightly before it could slip out of his grip and began pulling it up."

"Very nice, Slick," Judy said in a mocking tone. "Although I think the point of the grappling hook is that it's supposed to wrap _around _the support." When Nick didn't retaliate, the rabbit's tone changed from mocking to worried. "Nick...you okay? You've got a comeback, right?"

"I…" Nick didn't know what to say. Would they think he was crazy? "Thought I saw something moving up there. Like we were being watched or something."

"Watched?" Judy asked. "What, by Coastline?"

"No way it'd be Coastline," Finnick answered, arms folded impatiently. "We definitely would've noticed if they got in. That bunch have all the subtlety of a drunken bull in a china shop."

"No, not Coastline." Nick shook his head. "It felt like something else." Nick looked back up at the ceiling corner, still seeing nothing. "Almost like this place is haunted or something..."

"Haunted?" Finnick scoffed. "Come on, Kid, don't tell me you seriously believe that kinda shit. You're just getting spooked."

"Probably," Nick said, not sounding very certain. "Think we just need to get out of here."

"Won't argue with that," Judy agreed. "The sooner we get to the surface, the better."

"Maybe some fresh air will get you to stop acting like such a damn moron," Finnick grumbled. "Probably wishful thinking on my part."

Nick just tried to clear his head and threw the hook again, this time it connected and wrapped tightly around the support beam. Following that, the three of them were able to easily swing over.

"Nearly there," Nick said, looking up at their temple destination as he gathered the rope. "Just need to work our way a bit further up, then another quick climb and swing to that walkway and we'll finally be at the temple."

Judy let out a relieved sigh. "Was half expecting Coastline to show up before we got there. Glad to see things actually sort of, almost, but not quite completely going our way for once."

"That's the spirit, Fluff." Nick smiled at the rabbit. "We'll drill that treasure hunter optimism into you yet!"

"You call that optimism?"

"The treasure hunter equivalent," Nick clarified. "It's kinda like regular optimism, except instead of thinking everything will go right, you just hold onto the belief that things won't be a _complete _disaster. About as close as you can afford to get to being an optimist in the treasure hunting business if you hope to last longer than a week."

"Sounds...fun…"

"It's better than it sounds, really...sort of," Nick tried to justify. "It has its charms. Just one of those things you have to experience for yourself to get it."

"If you're quite done awkwardly hitting on the bunny, Kid," Finnick interjected, causing the fox and rabbit to both look down at the ground in embarrassment. "I feel like I should remind you Coastline are still lurking about, and I'd rather be out of here before our bad luck streak starts up again and some asshole comes bursting through the-"

_*Boom!* _

A large set of stone doors overlooking a walkway built into the back of the cavern were blown outward in a sudden blast, scattering dust and chunks of stone across the cavern network. As the dust cleared, they saw a large hole in the cavern wall and a group of Coastline mammals pouring through.

"Door…" Finnick finished. "Godsdammit…"

"Ugh...this is just what we needed…" Nick groaned as he looked up at the squad of mercenaries taking up position on the surroundings walkways above.

"Hey, you guys made it," a familiar voice called out. Nick saw Baju waving at them with a rifle held in paw. "Told you they were still alive, bru." The cheetah nodded at the mercenary standing next to him, the single horned and foul-tempered nyala, Tanger.

"Not the time, you blimmin' moron," the antelope growled, hunched over the walkway with his rifle firmly gripped in his hooves. Even from this distance, Nick could swear the prey mammal's eyes were twitching with erratic rage. "You damned brakk's really are a stubborn bunch, aren't you? Just refuse to freaking die."

"I don't suppose you've come to congratulate us on our admirable tenacity, have you?" Nick asked mockingly. "Could really use some celebratory sandwiches and champagne if you've brought them." He seriously doubted the sarcasm was going to help matters, but then again, he was pretty sure these guys were dead set on killing them at this point, so it wasn't like it would make things worse either.

"You really can't help yourself, can you, Kid?" Finnick groaned, the scowl on his face suggesting he was moments away from biting Nick's face off.

"Not when you make it so much fun," Nick answered, flashing his mentor a cocky grin. The desert fox's scowl deepened even further.

"Always gotta be the wise ass, don't ya?" Tanger growled. "You've all been a damn pain in the ass for far too long. The only reason you lot even got this far is because the Boss and Rich Boy thought you'd be of some use. Well, guess what? They've found their 'garden', which means you ain't worth shit to them now." A wicked grin spread across the antelope's face. "Which means I finally get to do something I've been waiting a _long _time for."

Judy's whole body tensed up, ready to spring into action. "And this is the part where he tells them to kill us…"

"Kill them!"

"Good guess, now run!" Nick's instincts took over as he sprinted up the walkway towards the closest cover he could find, a structure built into a nearby stalactite. He wasn't sure when the bullets started flying, time was weird like that when his adrenaline was pumping, but it wasn't until he dove into the building itself that he finally noticed the sound of gunfire and bullets chipping away at the stonework.

"Gramps? Judy?" Nick gasped, looking around for any sign of his friends.

"We're here!" Judy shouted over the gunfire outside, her back against the wall on the other side of the room they had dove into. Crouched right next to her was Finnick, claws and teeth bared, presumably looking to ruin the day of any Coastline mercs dumb enough to force their way in. "Well, this isn't what I'd call great…"

"Not great? A stripper swiping your wallet is 'not great.' This is a godsdamn catastrophe!" the desert fox growled. "Wasn't this the exact kind of shit I said would happen if you two didn't stop screwing around?"

"Hindsight isn't really going to help us here, Gramps," Nick shot back. "Got anything that actually will?"

"Don't give me that 'you're not helping' crap, you ass," the desert fox snapped. "I have a half a mind to take that damn hook of yours and shove it up your-" Finnick stopped mid-threat as his ears flicked towards the building entrance. "Wait a minute…"

"What?" Nick questioned, only for the desert fox to rush over and grab the hook, pulling it along with him back towards the other side of the room with the rope still attached to Nick's waist. "Hey, you better not actually try to shove it up my-."

"Shut up and hold on to your end." Finnick started moving towards the opening to the walkway, nodding at the outline of a pair of shadows just outside.

Realizing what Finn was up to, Nick gripped the rope in his paw and started making his way to the opening from his side, motioning for Judy to stick with the old fox. The rabbit nodded and quietly picked up a chunk of stone off the ground.

Once Finnick was next to the building exit, he pointed to Nick and signalled him to wait. Nick nodded, watching as the desert fox raised the hook in anticipation and then swung it in a horizontal arc towards the exit, catching a hare mercenary right in the face as he tried to rush in. There was a harsh crack as the lapine's head snapped back and he crashed into the floor with barely a grunt.

Nick pulled the rope tight, straightening it just as a caracal tried to charge in after the hare and caught it right in the chest. It sent him stumbling over the rope and he face planted into the ground, his pistol flying from his paws.

Quick to capitalize, Judy leapt forward with the stone in her paws and slammed it against the back of the feline merc's head, making sure he stayed down.

"Smooth moves, you two." Nick bent down and grabbed the caracal's pistol, quickly pawing through his vest for any ammunition he could find and stuffing it in his satchel. "At least now we've got some firepower."

"Thank the gods for overly eager idiots who can't be bothered to wait for backup," Finnick smirked as he grabbed the hare's dropped gun.

"Just the gun?" Nick asked.

"You really think I'm going to stick my head out there?" Finnick countered, pointing at the body lying outside on the walkway. "Ammo is nice and all, but I'd rather not catch it with my face."

"Okay, good point," Nick nodded, glancing out at the walkway. "Not like we can afford to stay here much longer anyways before the rest make a move. Best we don't give them a chance to be ready for us when we make a break for it."

"That better be soon," Judy urged. "Those two may have jumped the gun, but I doubt the rest are far behind. Probably looking to box us in."

"I don't think they're coming out, bru," Baju could be heard saying.

"To hell with this," Tanger growled. "Hit 'em with the RPG, we'll either blow the bastards to pieces or bury 'em."

"Or...deciding to just blow us up instead," Judy muttered, nose twitching.

"Yeah, this is the part where we start running," Nick said, immediately taking off through the exit with the others and running up the walkway as fast as they could.

They weren't even a few steps out of the building before they heard the sound of a rocket barreling towards them, although oddly enough, no gunfire. A few steps more, and a deafening blast nearly knocked them off their feet as the rocket violently detonated against the building they had just abandoned, practically cracking it in half and scattering chunks of stone debris.

"What? Are you all here to watch the blimmin' fireworks?" Tanger braked out. "Shoot 'em, ya freakin' dompkofs!"

The depressingly familiar sound of gunfire returned as the walkway started to get hammered, buckling under the barrage of bullets and explosives. Nick desperately looked around for any safe spot to make for before they either ran out of space or the walkway collapsed and took them with it. "Uhh...uhhh…collapsing walkway bad! Collapsing walkway very bad!"

"There!" Judy shouted, pointing at a branching walkway that wrapped around a stalactite in an upwards spiral.

"Good enough." Just as Nick felt the walkway start to collapse, he leaped for the adjacent path, hitting it hard on his side. Seeing Judy land right next to him, he turned around to try and grab Finnick. Instead, he got the air knocked out of him as the smaller flox came flying at him, slamming right into his chest and causing him to let out a pained yelp.

"A heads up would've been nice..." Nick wheezed as he struggled for breath.

"Didn't exactly have time to think about your pansy ass," Finnick groaned as he pulled himself up.

Nick peered over the edge of the path, witnessing the walkway finally buckle and break away from its supports. It fell and smashed to pieces on the ground far below, the impact throwing up a large cloud of dust. "Guess I can't fault you on that one."

"Come on," Judy urged, waving for the others to follow her up the spiralling walkway. "Before they notice."

Taking advantage of the dust cloud, Nick and Finnick hurried after the bunny. "Really hoping this leads somewhere…" the red fox mumbled.

"Did we get them?" One mercenary asked.

"I don't know," another answered. "Hard to keep track with all the shit collapsing, freaking dust everywhere now."

"Wait, did none of you actually keep an eye on them?" Tanger asked in disbelief.

A bunch of negative's rang out as the rest of the mercenaries confirmed they had not, in fact, been keeping track of Nick and the others.

"Great…" Tanger sighed. "You were all shooting at them, how the hell could you not see where they went?"

"You didn't see them either, bru," Baju pointed out.

"Shut up!" Tanger snapped back. "Spread out and find 'em, we need to make sure they're dead. If they didn't go down with the walkway, then they can't have gone far."

"Hold on, who put _you _in charge?" one of the other mercenaries asked.

"What?" Tanger growled.

"He has a point, bru," Baju added. "The boss doesn't exactly look to you or me as leadership types."

"You, stop talking," Tanger growled at his cheetah partner. "And no, I'm not in charge, but do you seriously want to risk going back to the boss without being certain that asshole Wilde and his pals are dead?" he argued.

"We could just lie…" the previous merc suggested.

"Right...cause that always works," Tanger sarcastically shot back. "And what does he usually do to those he catches lying?"

There was an awkward pause as the mercenaries considered the nyala's point.

"Split up," one merc finally yelled. "Find 'em before the boss decides to tan our hides."

Nick could hear the rest of the mercenaries muttering reluctant affirmatives as they spread out to search. "Time to go before somebody sees us." The others nodded in agreement and continued onwards.

As Nick and the others made it to the top of the spiral walkway, they reached a connected walkway that lead directly to one of the topmost floors of the temple, even higher than the one they had originally been trying to get to.

Finnick nodded slightly at the fox. "Huh, made it to the temple despite that mess. You really do have the most messed up luck, Kid."

"It does seem rather double-edged at times," Nick shrugged.

"Let's go," Judy urged. "If this 'salvation' is at the top of the temple, we might be able to slip out of here before anybody notices us."

Checking to make sure they wouldn't be spotted, the three of them made for the temple interior as quickly and quietly as they could.

Once inside, Nick scanned the chamber they had entered, noticing it was filled with columns. He eyed a damaged one right next to the entrance they had come through that was missing the top half, and it gave him an idea.

"Carrots, give me a paw with this," Nick moved behind the column and planted his back against it, pushing off the wall with his feet. "Should slow them down a bit if they try to follow us."

"Got it." The rabbit joined Nick and started pushing against the statue while Finnick watched for Coastline.

"You two better not throw your backs out trying to get that thing over," Finnick whispered. "Cause I sure as hell ain't carrying you out of here."

"Almost…got it" Nick grunted as he pushed.

"Just...a little...more," Judy practically squeaked with each push.

Finally, they managed to tip the column and it slammed into the ground with a harsh thud, blocking off the entrance.

"Phew," Nick wiped his brow. "Nice work."

"Thanks," Judy flashed the fox a smile before looking over at the blocked entrance, a look of concern on her face. "You don't suppose they heard that, did you?"

_*Bang!* _

A chunk of the column next to them exploded, scattering bits of stone across the room.

"Shit," Nick yelled, diving behind the nearest intact column.

"Get down!" Judy shouted, diving the other way behind another one.

"Son of a bitch!" Finnick shouted as he ducked after Judy.

"Okay, somebody _definitely _heard us," Nick yelped, staying low and reaching for his gun.

"No shit," a voice taunted from the darkness. Peeking out, Nick saw a water buffalo covered from head to hoof in kevlar and armoured plating, a massive shotgun gripped in his hooves and bandoliers carrying what was probably his, Finn's, and Judy's combined weight in shotgun shells. Nick would've called it overkill, but even that didn't seem to capture how ridiculously well armed this merc was. "Guess I should thank you for sealing yourselves in, saves me the trouble of having to chase you down."

"Aw hell…" Nick grumbled.

"He's got us pinned in here!" Judy squeaked.

"No shit, bunny!" Finnick growled. "Hey, Kid, I don't suppose by some miracle you have an actual plan?"

"Working on it," Nick shouted back. "Just sit tight and wait for an opening. Should be fine as long as we don't stick our necks out. Pretty sure those columns will take whatever he can throw at-"

_*Bang!* _

A second shotgun blast went off, the buckshot slamming into the column Nick was hiding behind and tearing out a sizeable chunk. The fox could feel a stinging sensation as some of the buckshot just barely missed him and small bits of rock pelted his arm.

"You were saying?" the bull chuckled, cocking the shotgun.

"I was wrong," Nick shouted. "Dodge, dodge, dodge!"

The red fox rolled out of the way just as a third shot obliterated the rest of the column. He sprinting from cover to cover, dodging buckshot and holding the mercs attention. Mixed in among the roar of shotgun blasts and shattering stone, Nick could hear the lighter pops of Finnick's gun as he returned fire.

_Focus on staying alive, Finn's gotta be softening him up. _

He just kept jumping, diving, and rolling, counting each shot as he waited for the buffalo to run out of ammo. Then he'd strike back hard.

_Okay, that's seven...and...eight! Hit him now! _

There was a click as the water buffalo tried to fire again, only to realize his weapon was dry. Seeing that the mammal was reaching for the shells on his bandolier, Nick made his move, taking aim at the mercenary.

"Kid, wait a sec. His ar-"

Whatever Finnick said was drowned out as Nick unloaded his entire weapon's magazine into the heavily armoured merc.

The bull fumbled with his shells as the shots connected, but he didn't go down. He just shielded his head as the bullets bounced harmlessly off his armour, it was like Nick had been flicking rubber bands at him or something. By the time the fox's gun was empty, the mercenary was just staring down at him, equal parts unharmed and unimpressed.

"Shit…" Nick looked at his empty gun and then back at the merc. "That...went a lot better in my head…"

"Not sure why you expected that little pea shooter of yours to do anything," the merc chuckled, sliding a shell into the shotgun and cocking the weapon. "Did manage to tickle a bit, so I guess I'll give you that."

"Tried to warn you, ya freaking idiot," Finnick shouted from the other side of the room. "Couldn't even put a dent in him with that damn armour of his."

"Ugh, you assholes never play fair!" Nick rolled behind the nearest column expecting the water buffalo to fire. When no shot came, he quickly reloaded his gun and peeked out to look, only to get a face full of armoured bovine as the mercenary slammed right into him, knocking the fox backwards and sending his freshly loaded gun flying.

"Getting sick of your little foxtrot crap," the bull said with a shrug, aiming his shotgun square at the fox's head. "Figured it'd be easier to stop you in your tracks."

"Eep," Nick squeaked, staring down the almost comically oversized barrel. He told himself not to imagine what that thing could do to his head, but idiot he was, he just couldn't help himself. It was a rather disturbing image, to say the least.

As the buffalo pulled the trigger, a pair of grey and sandy coloured blurs slammed into his back, sending his shot into the floor. Nick's life had started flashing before his eyes but he quickly cut that demo reel short, most of the stuff that didn't involve Finn or Judy were pretty crappy memories anyway. Looking up at the water buffalo, he saw the merc struggling as Finnick clung to his shoulder and Judy tried to wrap her arms around his neck.

Valiant as their efforts were, it didn't exactly amount to much with all the armour the merc had. The bull grabbed Finnick and threw him to the ground before kicking him away, sending the desert fox sliding to the back of the room.

"Finn," Nick yelled, running over to check his mentor. "You okay?"

"Don't worry about me, moron," Finnick growled, nodding back at the water buffalo. "Bunny's the one that needs help."

"Huh?" Nick turned and saw Judy grabbing onto the mercenary's shotgun, pushing her legs off his chest in an attempt to disarm him. The water buffalo seemed unfazed and started violently shaking his gun. The bunny's feet slipped loose as she flailed about, holding onto the gun for dear life. When she refused to let go, the buffalo formed a fist with his free hoof and plowed it right into the bunny, sending her flying across the room.

"Judy!" Nick cried out in alarm. His mind screamed at him to make sure she was alright, but he pushed that urge down. If he didn't take care of this asshole now, they'd all be as good as dead. Letting out a ferocious growl, he charged the water buffalo with blinding speed, claws extended as he raked the merc's knee. He must've hit a weak spot because he felt a piece of the armour come loose as his claws raked the bull's flesh, drawing some blood.

Caught off guard by the sudden hit, the bull grunted and stumbled onto one knee, his weapon slipping out of his hooves. "Blimmin' bastard!" he growled.

"There's more where that came from, bub," Nick smugly replied, balling his paw into a fist and plowing it right into the water buffalo's head.

_*Clang!* _

Instead of the triumphant yell he was expecting, Nick let out a pained whimper, his paw exploding in pain after colliding with the mammal's metal faceplate. His paw probably wasn't broken, but it hurt like hell all the same. "Why...did I think...that would be a good idea?"

"Heat of the moment, maybe?" the mercenary answered. He grabbed Nick with both hooves and lifted him up.

"Oh, crap…" Nick gulped.

"My turn." Even with the faceplate on, Nick could tell he was grinning from ear to ear, this was a bull that clearly enjoyed his work.

The water buffalo slammed Nick into the back wall. Expecting the blow to crush him, he was surprised when the wall broke apart on contact instead, leaving him with a few more bruises and sore spots instead of the shattered body he had been expecting.

"Huh...figured that'd break every bone in your body," the mercenary said disappointedly. "Guess that wall wasn't as sturdy as it looked."

"Mess up your big moment?" Nick asked sarcastically.

"Nah, I've always been a glass half full kinda guy." The water buffalo threw Nick across the room, the impact leaving the fox dazed and stunned as he hit the ground on his back. "And glass half full, now I get to just stomp you into paste instead."

Nick sluggishly tried to back away from the advancing merc. "Come on mam," he tried to stall. "At least leave the face intact, you know, for the ladies."

"Nick!" Judy yelled from somewhere behind him, sliding something across the floor towards him. Not one to question a good thing, the fox reached for it and turned it on the mercenary. Looking down at it, he realized it was his loaded gun.

Not even giving the water buffalo a chance to react, Nick aimed at the one spot on the merc he knew was exposed, his scratched up knee, and unloaded his entire clip. The bull collapsed under the barrage and rolled onto his side, roaring in pain as he clutched at his now mangled knee.

"You...damnable...sons of bitches!" he angrily spat.

"Thanks, Fluff, that was some really quick thinking there." Nick turned and gave the rabbit a thumbs up as she stepped out from the column she had been crouched behind.

"Real slick moves, bunny," Finnick said, limping next to Judy. "Your talents were wasted as a cop."

"I'm not sure about that," Judy murmured, a bit taken aback by the remark.

"You're right, Fluff." Nick joked as he pulled off the buffalo's faceplate and helmet, tossing them aside. "Those skills must've served you well when you were doling out all those parking tickets."

"Okay, I know you're just being sarcastic, but you'd be surprised how true that really is."

"You three will never make it out of here alive," the merc seethed through gritted teeth, eyes blazing with fury. "You're all dead!"

"I'm sure we'll manage somehow," Judy replied with a smirk.

"We do tend to stumble into success eventually, even if we seem to take a lot of detours," Nick added as he picked up the massive shotgun and smashed it over the water buffalo's head. The bull was knocked out cold as his head bounced off the stone floor. "Probably gonna want to get that knee looked at whenever your buddies find you, by the way."

"Yeah, about that," Finnick said. "Whenever you're done giving our enemies pointless tips, maybe we can get back to actually finding a way out of here. Because there's no way in hell somebody didn't hear all that."

"Back here," Judy called, waving them over. "There's a path at the back of this room, I think it leads to the top of the temple."

"Alright," Nick said, tossing the oversized shotgun aside. "Better scram then before his friends catch up."

The three of them quickly made their way up the path, soon entering a large circular chamber. Parts of the floor had collapsed, leaving gaps that dropped into a seemingly endless black abyss below.

"Any way out?" Finnick asked.

"Not seeing anything…" Judy answered nervously as she and the others looked around, only finding gaps and solid stone walls covered in alcoves of varying shapes and sizes. They had likely been meant to hold something at one point, but it wasn't clear what.

"Godsdammit, your ancestor better not have screwed us over, Kid."

"Easy, Gramps, we're not in _too _much trouble yet," Nick reasoned. "I don't hear anybody coming so we've still got some time to find an exit, let's just look around."

As they searched the room, Nick's attention was drawn to a canid skeleton on the ground, his body slumped against the wall with a steel rapier resting in his paw. As he leaned down to examine it, he noticed that the mammal's clothing was more refined than that worn by the other mammals they had found. Clearly, this was more than a simple soldier or sailor, this was a mammal of class, one that seemed familiar to the fox.

"Nick?" Judy asked, touching his shoulder to get his attention.

Nick didn't look at her though, he knew now why this skeleton seemed so familiar. It wasn't just any canid, it was a fox, _the _fox. Even reduced to a skeleton, he'd recognize that stature and clothing anywhere. He had seen this fox time and time again in countless drawings and portraits. This was a mammal he had spent his whole life studying and getting to know, one that he'd been working to honour his entire life.

"It's Wilde…"

* * *

_AN: Aaaand that's the end of THAT chapter! Bet you weren't expecting HIM to show up in the...bones...I guess (gonna go ahead and swipe that one from you, Pandora XD). Or maybe you did expect it, I don't know, this is all relatively new to me. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed it, be sure to stick around because things will only be getting crazier the further we go._

_Until then though, that's the waaaaay the news goes! Wait...wrong sign off. I meant Sic Parvis Magna!_


	23. Sir Francis Wilde

_AN: Hey all! Time for another chapter update! Hope I haven't kept you people waiting too long. It's been a pretty long and crazy journey (longer on AO3, but eh, details :D) Anyways, time to get on with the story. Hope you guys enjoy it!_

* * *

Wilde…

Sir Francis godsdamn Wilde…

He shouldn't have been surprised to find him like this. Setting off on a secret voyage into the unknown, outnumbered and outgunned, never to be heard from again? You didn't exactly have to be a genius to figure out how the old sailor's journey would end. But still, to see the ancestor that had inspired him meet such a fate...

"The Garden, he...he never found it," Nick muttered, mostly to himself. "He just...died here…" Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Judy and Finnick looking back and forth between him and each other.

"Uhh…" Finnick fumbled as he tried to think of something to say. "I'm gonna check for a way out. You two can take care of things here."

Nick felt Judy's paw on his shoulder again, but he couldn't acknowledge her yet. He was still struggling to come to terms with everything.

"Guess you never were the kind to just call it quits, huh?" Nick chuckled, reaching for the signet ring tied around his neck and pulling it loose. He rolled the silver band between his fingers, eyeing the intricate design as he once again found himself dwelling on what it meant to him.

_"Sic Parvis Magna...greatness from small beginnings..." _Nick whispered as he read the ring's inscription, the motto of a mammal who had died alone in some underground pit. "Is _this _where greatness got you?"

Had he even achieved greatness? Had either of them, really? Nick had gone from being some dumb pred kid who didn't know his place to a struggling treasure hunter barely making ends meet, not exactly what he'd call moving up in life. And Sir Francis? This was supposed to have been his greatest achievement, the discovery that would define all others. And how did that end? In abysmal failure with not only his death but the death of nearly his entire crew as well, the very expedition itself erased from history. The only mammals even aware of its existence now were a pair of glorified grave robbers, a reporter, and a bunch of merc assholes only looking to loot the place. Some great legacy that turned out to be…

"Nick?" Judy pressed her paw down on Nick's shoulder more forcefully as distant noises echoed through the room. Shouting maybe? Gunshots? The fox was too preoccupied to tell. "Are you ready to go?" As courteous as it was of the bunny to ask, it was obvious she was just trying to find a diplomatic way of saying they needed to get the hell out of here and fast.

He looked back down at the body one last time, ready to leave when he noticed a piece of paper sticking out from one of the dead fox's pockets. Nick grabbed the paper and looked it over, noticing it looked similar to the pages in his journal. He opened it up to reveal a message that had been frantically scribbled onto it, most likely Wilde's final words before his death.

_"My end draws-" _

Nick's reading was cut short by the sound of gunshots and frantic shouts echoing from the hallway. The noise sounded distant but louder than before. Coastline must've breached the temple, it wouldn't be long now before they found them. It was just like those assholes to ruin the moment.

"Nick," Judy urged, her tone far more insistent this time. "The note can wait, we need to hurry and find a way out of here before they figure out where we are."

"Yeah," Nick nodded, getting up as he tied the ring back around his neck and folded the paper into his satchel. "Let's go."

Looking around, Nick and Judy spotted Finnick on the other side of the room, staring up at the wall. Following the smaller fox's gaze, they saw that there was a second floor up above that encircled the room. Just like the bottom floor, there were alcoves in the wall, but they didn't notice much else.

"Find a way up there, Finn?" Judy asked as she approached the desert fox.

"Maybe," Finn answered, pointing at a strange metal and wooden device hanging off the edge of the second floor. "Looks like there's some sort of machine up there, not that it'll do us any good since we can't reach it." A wheel was connected at the base with a rope running through a metal framework that stuck out over the floor edge.

"It looks like some kind of hoist," Nick said, narrowing his eyes to get a better look. "Must've used it to move cargo between floors. Too high to reach with the grappling hook, though."

"We might not need to, look." Judy pointed at a broken ladder on the opposite side of the room. The bottom half had rusted and broken away, but the rest was still intact. "You might be able to just get your hook into that."

"I dunno, Fluff." Nick eyed the ladder wearily. "That thing's seen better days. Could just as easily tear that ladder off the wall, and then we'd just be back to square one."

"I could reach it if you boost me up there," Judy offered. "Test it out and see if it's safe."

"Okay, that works." Nick stepped into position beneath the broken ladder with paws cupped together. "You know the drill."

"Uh huh," Judy nodded. She charged the fox, landing in his paws and springing upward as he boosted her, managing to grip the ladder with ease.

"How's it look from up there?" Finnick called to the bunny. "That thing gonna hold?"

"Feels steady enough," Judy said as she carefully climbed the rungs, craning her head for a better view of the upper floor. "Hey, I see another passage up here, we can get out this way!"

"About damn time," Finnick grunted, stepping up to the wall. "Come on, Kid. Give me a boost."

"On it," Nick repeated the motion, boosting the smaller fox up to the ladder. "Got it?"

"Course I've got it, who do you take me for?" Finnick responded.

"A mammal with a Napawleon complex bigger than Zootopia's Climate Wall who's constantly chasing girls and getting into fights as overcompensation for his age and diminutive stature?"

"Ha ha, real funny smartass…" the older fox grumbled as he made his way up. Just as he reached the top and pulled himself over the ledge, the ladder buckled and tore away from the wall with a grating screech.

"Nick! Watch out!" Judy called out.

Nick stumbled out of the way as the old ladder smashed into the ground just where he had been standing, cracking as it clattered against the stone floor.

"Crap…" the vulpine muttered, looking at the twisted wreckage and then back up the bunny and desert fox watching him. "Guess we're going with the hoist, then."

"Alright," Judy nodded. "We'll try to get it moving, then."

"Just sit tight, Kid." Finnick followed the bunny over to the hoist. "And try not to die down there."

"Thanks…" Nick muttered as he stuck his paws in his pockets and sighed. "I'll just wait down here then…" The fox shambled over to one of the gaps in the floor, staring down at the abyss below. He could barely see the cavern wall, but even that was quickly swallowed by the darkness.

"Long way down…" he mumbled, casually kicking a rock over the edge, it too was quickly swallowed by darkness, the actual impact against the ground, if any, too quiet for him to pick up. Although it was just as likely that he was distracted by the padding and clomping of paws and hooves against stone right behind him.

Reaching for his gun, Nick turned to see two mercenaries entering the room, a cheetah and a nyala. That didn't really surprise him, he knew Coastline would find them eventually. What did surprise him though was that they had their backs to him. Nick wasn't sure they even knew he was there. They were slowly backing into the room, gaze and weapons trained on the doorway they had just come through. It took a moment for him to even register who they were until he noticed the nyala's broken horn.

_Baju and Tanger, of course... _

"Hello boys," Nick said with a cocky grin as he took aim at the mercs. They both let out surprised yelps, spinning around to face the fox. He would've been ready if they had just tried to shoot him, which is why their actual reaction caught him off guard. Tanger and Baju only aimed their rifles at him for a split second before lowering them, eyes frantically darting in random directions as if they were looking at everything but the fox. There was something off putting about how spooked they looked. It was like they had seen a ghost.

"Wow, easy there fellas," Nick joked as he lowered his weapon slightly, their nervous looks making him feel pretty cocky but still not quite ready to dismiss them as threats yet. "I mean, I'm glad you guys finally realize what a badass I am, but I didn't think I was _that _terrifying."

The confusing standoff was interrupted by a series of pained screams echoing out from the hallway. All three mammals turned to look at the entrance, fixated on where the noise was coming from but seeing nothing more than stone and shadows.

"What the hell was that?" Nick wasn't feeling nearly as cocky as he did a few moments ago.

"Didn't you see them?" Tanger asked, glancing back at Nick. There was something about the panic in the antelope's voice that the fox found deeply unsettling. He couldn't believe he was thinking this, but he actually would've probably preferred it if they had just tried to shoot him, at least that would've been expected. This...he had no idea what to make of this.

"Oh no...Oh, gods no…" Baju whimpered, a look of abject terror in the cheetah's eyes and his whole body trembling. He kept his weapon trained on the doorway as he slowly started backing up again. "Not like this bru...anything but this…"

Nick's ears began to swivel as strange growls assaulted his senses, some echoed from the hallway, but others sounded like they were coming from inside the room itself. The chills Nick had been feeling flared up something fierce, almost suffocating him. This wasn't just nerves, there was something else here. "What is that?"

"We're dead!" Tanger wailed, ears swivelling and body practically vibrating as his eyes darted from one shadow to the next. "We're all dead!"

"Ahhhhhh!"

Spinning around to the source of the scream, Nick and Tanger witnessed a panicked Baju struggling to throw off a monstrous creature that had clung to his back, snarling and clawing at him. Nick couldn't get a good look at the thing amidst all the thrashing, but from what he saw, it was furless with nasty looking claws and long sharp fangs, fangs that it was trying to dig into the mercenary's flesh.

"No!" Tanger cried out in shock, gun raised but unable to shoot lest he hit the spotted feline.

"Get it off! Get it off!" Baju yelled in panic as he struggled, stumbling close to one of the gaps in the floor.

"Baju!" Tanger shouted, unable to do anything but watch helplessly.

The cheetah stumbled backwards and fell through the hole, screaming in terror as he and the creature both plummeted into the darkness below.

"No!" the antelope roared, running towards the edge and firing his rifle into the abyss in anguished fury.

"Tanger, get back here!" Nick called out as he looked around, his ears flicking as he tracked the sounds of more growls and padding footsteps, a lot more.

Creatures started pouring into the room, some coming through the doorway, others clambering out from gaps in the walls or holes in the floor as they took up position around the fox and nyala. Some crawled on all fours while others were hunched over on two legs, claws extended as they let out monstrous snarls.

They all bore the shapes of mammals, prey and predator, big and small, but that was where the resemblances ended. Most of the creatures had no fur or small patches at the most, their bodies mostly covered in pale grey skin. Their limbs looked unnatural, almost like they were too long and bent at slightly off angles. And most concerning, every last one of the freaks sported unnaturally long claws and fangs that looked like they could easily cut the both of them to ribbons.

A particularly ferocious looking creature that resembled an antelope fixated on Nick, slowly pacing forward on four jagged looking hooves that may as well have been claws, given how deadly they looked. It snarled at the fox, showing razor sharp fangs that by all accounts, a mammal like that should never have had, it was like something out of a fever dream.

All of that on its own would've been more than enough to ensure Nick would probably never get a decent night of sleep again, but even then, it was the eyes that haunted him the most. They were all pitch black, not a hint of white or an iris to be seen. It felt like Nick wasn't staring into eyes so much as the void itself. If these things had once been mammals, it was clear they weren't anymore. Whatever happened to them, they were just soulless abominations now, driven only by the urge to kill and maim any who trespassed on their turf.

"Oh, crap…" Nick muttered as he backed up to the center of the room. He wasn't exactly sure what to expect when he had first started feeling those chills or stumbled across those bizarre remains and mangled Coastline mercs, but it sure as hell wasn't this. He felt Tanger's backside as he and the merc stood back to back, weapons at the ready as they reluctantly faced down the savage creatures surrounding them.

"Wilde, if we don't make it out of here…" Tanger started, his voice still having traces of fear, but also determination. "I just want you to know...I hate your guts," the last part coming out in a growl. Well, at least it didn't sound like he'd shoot him in the back, not while these freaks were trying to kill them, anyway.

"Yeah, yeah, right back at ya, pal," Nick replied, too anxious to come up with an insult to go with the sarcasm. "Now let's do this."

The freak antelope let out a rasping roar as it charged Nick, but the fox was ready and fired three shots, one hitting its shoulder and two in the head. The creature stumbled and crashed to the ground, but he didn't have time to appreciate the kill as more of them started charging.

Nick kept shooting, dropping two bunny-like creatures in a hail of lead while Tanger's own rifle roared behind him as the Coastline merc fought off the creatures on his side. They were holding them back for now, but he could hear more of them, just out of sight and quickly moving to join the fray.

"Nick, what's going on? What are those things?" Judy yelled from up above, her voice laced with confusion and shock.

"Just get that rope down here, fast!" Nick shouted back, emptying the last of his magazine into a canid creature with extended claws that the fox swore were almost as big as his head. The creature staggered back but it wasn't enough to put it down. The monster let out a rasping growl as it raised its claws again and leaped at the fox with a swipe.

"Shit!" Nick dove to his side, quickly rolling onto his back and crawling away from the monster as he frantically reloaded his weapon. The monster tried to lunge again only to catch several shots to the chest, collapsing just short of him. Before he could even take a moment to breathe, his senses flared up and he rolled to the side as a claw swiped through the air where he had just been. Thoughtless assholes couldn't even be bothered to give him a moment's rest. Nick scrambled back onto his feet and fired at the asshole in question, a ferocious looking ungulate. The creature crumpled backwards and plummeted through the hole in the floor it had crawled out of.

"Guys?" Nick called out as he rushed back to Tanger at the center of the room, getting ready for another attack. "Hate to be the 'any time now' guy, but...any time now!"

"We're trying, Kid," Finnick shouted in a strained voice, the sound of grinding metal accompanying him along with his and the bunny's grunts of exertion. "The damn things rusted, it won't budge."

"Just hold on another minute," Judy said.

"Not to put pressure on you or anything, Fluff. But Tanger and I'll both be kibble for these things in another minute," Nick snapped back in frustration.

"Please tell me you ain't expecting us to bring that one-balled asshole up with you," Finnick called back, finally pointing the mercenary out. "He ain't exactly our biggest fan."

"Now's not the freaking time, Gramps!" Nick yelled as another pack of the savage mammals forced their way into the room, the fox already unloading his weapon into them.

As the charging creatures went down, Nick saw Tanger working to hold off a behemoth of a mutant far larger than any of the ones that had attacked the fox, a seriously twisted looking rhino if he had to guess. The creature snorted and charged at the nyala merc as he emptied his entire rifle into it. Despite the barrage, the thing still wouldn't go down, merely roaring in pain and staggering.

"Just die you, godsdamn freak," Tanger yelled as he tossed his now empty rifle, the weapon bouncing off the creature without seeming to even register the impact between its throes of pain. Equal parts undeterred and frustrated, the mercenary drew his sidearm and furiously fired away at the creature. The savage rhino staggering backwards until it finally stumbled over the edge of one of the gaps in the floor, letting out one final roar as it fell.

"That's right you ugly brakk," Tanger shouted in triumph, evidently too in the zone to realize that insult didn't work for a rhino. He stomped a hoof at the edge of the gap and mockingly gestured down into the abyss. "Don't mess with Tanger freaking Vlaktes!"

"Get away from the edge, idiot!" Nick yelled over his shoulder at the merc, then turning his attention to the nightmarish looking feline that was charging him and dropping it with a flurry of shots. As the fox reloaded his weapon again, he was startled by the sound of ferocious snarls and the nyala screaming. Looking back, he saw the mercenary being pulled over the edge, hanging on for dear life while two antelope-like creatures tried to pull him down.

"Tanger!" Nick yelled, springing to help the mammal. "Tanger, hold on!"

The nyala looked right into the fox's eyes, a look of unprecedented terror. Despite their rather heated past, none of that mattered right now, all the mammal knew was that he didn't want to die. Not here, and not at the claws and fangs of these twisted monsters. The mercenary stuck a hoof out and Nick grabbed on with one paw, pulling as hard as he could. With the gun gripped in his free paw, Nick capped one of Tanger's attackers in the head, the creature going limp as it released its grip on the mercenary and dropped into the darkness.

Before Nick could shoot the second mammal, he glimpsed another of the savage beasts scaling up from the darkness and heading straight for him. He snapped a shot at the creature, knocking it loose from the wall and sending it plummeting, but that brief delay was all it took.

The antelope creature still clinging to Tanger sunk its fangs deep into the prey mammal's neck. The mercenary's grip on Nick's paw failed and the vulpine was flung backwards.

The last the fox would ever hear of Tanger was a blood curdling scream, fading into silence as the mercenary plummeted to his doom in the city depths. That scream would definitely be haunting Nick's dreams for quite a while, assuming he managed to escape this mess alive.

Fighting through the trauma now assailing him, the fox got up, shoving down the fear and panic as much as he could. Already he could see more creatures emerging from the darkness, hideous mammals of all shapes and sizes from the small to the dishearteningly massive, and all with their sights now set on him.

"You have got to be kidding me…" Nick whined, trying not to let the fear set in as he readied his weapon. The damn beasts were closing in and they just kept coming. Worse, now that Tanger was gone, it was him against the horde alone. "Guys! Hurry the hell up!" he shouted, the panic in his voice clear as day despite his best efforts. But then, being fearless was kind of a lost cause at this point, given the nightmarish shit he was seeing.

"Just hold on, Nick!" Judy shouted.

"A bit more, Kid!" Finnick added. "We almost got it!"

One of the creatures seemed more eager than the rest, charging ahead of the pack to swipe at Nick. It was a twisted canid of some sort, but Nick couldn't even tell if it was a wolf or a fox at this point. Not that it really mattered since either way, that thing was probably looking to tear his throat out. He ducked below out of the way of a brutal looking claw and dove to the side. As the creature tried to readjust, the treasure hunter snapped his weapon towards it and fired several rounds into the savage mammal's chest, putting it down hard.

"Great, now just gotta do that another fifty times in a row..." Nick stared at the swarm of savage mammals closing in from all sides, feeling a mix of dread and frustration.

"It's moving!" Judy shouted.

"Kid, get your ass to that hoist...thing, now!"

The rest of the savages started charging Nick, their claws raised and teeth on full display in anticipation of tearing the hapless fox apart. Having only one chance, Nick scrambled onto his feet and rushed towards the center of the room. He pulled out his hook and tossed it towards the hoist as he jumped upwards, managing to jam it into the metal framework. He swung clear of the savages as they tried to claw at him and started climbing up as fast as he could, putting as much distance between himself and the monsters below as possible.

"Hurry, Nick!" Judy shouted.

"Yeah, move your ass, Kid! Those...things are climbing up the walls!"

"Huh?" Nick looked over at the walls and saw creatures scampering up them, their claws apparently sharp enough to grip into the stone. "Shit, gotta keep mov- woah!" He nearly lost his hold on the rope as something grabbed his tail and started pulling. Looking down, he saw a savage weasel...or maybe a ferret? Whatever, a mustelid of some kind, and its furless grey arms were wrapped tightly around his tails as it snapped its jaws at him.

"Hey! Didn't your mom ever tell you not to mess with another mammal's tail?" Nick shouted, pulling his weapon and firing a round into the creature's head. He didn't even take the time to watch it fall, already resuming his climb.

"Hold on," Judy shouted. "We'll swing you over."

As Nick climbed, he felt himself swinging towards the edge of the room. Once he was certain he was above solid, and more importantly, savage-free ground, he dropped down and pulled the hook loose from the metal framework.

"This way!" Judy shouted, waving Nick over to the passage leading out.

"Move it! Before those things catch up!" Finnick shouted as he followed behind the rabbit.

Nick was still fumbling with his gun and hook, awkwardly clipping the grappling hook to his belt as he ran after them. He picked up the pace when he got a brief glimpse of furless and clawed paws starting to grasp at the floor ledge.

"Oh my gods," Judy said anxiously, her ears swivelling behind as the trio ran down the dark passageway.

"Go!" Nick shouted, the sounds of footpads against stone and snarling growls reverberating through the hall. He stuck his gun behind him and fired blindly, apparently managing to hit something if the accompanying roar of pain he heard was anything to go by.

"How...many...of those godsdamn freaks...are there?" Finnick shouted between huffs of breath as he struggled to keep up the pace.

"Too many." Looking ahead, Nick saw part of a stone door hanging from the ceiling and two chains supporting counter weights on each side of the hallway. "Hold up for a sec," the fox instructed, spinning around and firing at the two savage mammals he could see chasing them. They both went down easy enough, but he could already hear more of them coming, their unnatural growls and snarls getting steadily louder.

"You better have a plan, Kid," Finnick said through pants of breath as he bent over next to one of the chains, paws on his knees. "Cause if you stopped just to waste those two, I need to know now so I can kick your ass before the rest of 'em catch us."

"Part of a plan, I guess," Nick answered as he loaded a fresh magazine into his pistol. He glanced over at Judy. "They teach you how to use a gun at the academy?"

"What?" Judy questioned anxiously, still struggling to make sense of whatever the hell was going on.

"Guns, Fluff," Nick clarified. "They taught you to shoot them, right? Need a quick answer, cause our 'pals' aren't going to wait." The treasure hunter jutted a thumb back the way they came towards the sound of monstrous growls and claws scraping against stone to emphasize the point.

"Yes, of course they taught us," Judy answered, snapping to her senses.

"Good." The fox tossed the loaded pistol and his last magazine at the bunny. She awkwardly caught the gun with a surprised squeak while the magazine landed unceremoniously at her feet. "Gramps and I are going to get this door shut, you keep those things off of us."

"And how the hell are we going to do that?" Finnick questioned, his gaze snapping back and forth between the fox and the path they had just come through, now resounding with a murderous chorus of monsters looking to tear them superfluously new behinds.

"Breaking one of the counterweights should do the trick," Nick answered, pulling out his grappling hook. "Find a rock or something, shouldn't take much to break the chains given how old they are, right?" He swung the hook at the closest chain but it bounced off with a rattling clang.

"Gods, we really are screwed if bashing shit with rocks is the best you've got," Finnick growled as he picked up a nearby piece of stone and bashed the chain with it.

"Hey, it worked last time."

"Just make it quick guys." Judy's nose twitched rapidly as she took aim with the pistol and opened fire. "Cause we've got company."

Ignoring the sounds of gunshots and snarling savages, the foxes focused on swinging at the chain with all their might. The metal links clattered and shook beneath the constant blows, but the stubborn things seemed to hold steady.

"Uhh, Nick? Finn? What's taking you guys so long?" Judy called out, each of her shots being followed by the pained roar of another monster going down. At least the academy had seemed to drill into her the importance of good marksmanship and firing discipline. "I can't hold these things back forever!"

"We're working on it," Nick yelled back as he and Finnick continued to whale on the chain. The metal was starting to chip and crack beneath the blows, but not nearly fast enough for the fox's liking.

"Nick?!" Judy called back again, her voice a bit more anxious this time as the pace of fire started to pick up.

"I said we're working on it," Nick repeated with a growl, the stubborn chain seriously starting to get to him. "Get off my back!"

"Great plan, Kid," Finnick growled. "Let's just waste time smacking around solid iron chains while a swarm of psycho savage assholes barrel down on us!"

"How is this my fault?" Nick snapped back at the diminutive fox. "We couldn't keep running with you about to keel over, and every other thing on this island seems to break if we just look at it funny."

"Just our freaking luck that the one time we actually need shit to break, it's sturdier than an elephant's chastity belt!" the older fox snarled in frustration. "This damn island really is out to get us."

"Guys, the big ones are starting to catch up," Judy called back between shots. "Pretty sure this thing is just making them angry." Nick glanced back and saw a pile of small and medium sized mammal bodies blocking up the hallway with more just crawling over them. Coming up behind that were several monstrous megafauna that seemed intent on ploughing right through them.

"Just a bit more," Nick urged as he returned his attention to the chain. The link was finally starting to give, each blow tearing a bit more of it away.

Finally, with a loud clang, it shattered and the chain split in two, both of the counterweights flying upwards as the door began to fall.

"That's it, let's go!" The three of them dove through, hitting the ground as the stone door slammed down hard behind them. Even cut off from the creatures, Nick could hear them crash against the door, roaring in fury as they beat and scraped at the barrier now separating them from the trio.

"Everyone...alright?" Nick called out through anxious gasps for air, the trauma of what he had just experienced finally starting to catch up with him.

"Cheese and crackers…" Judy muttered staring back at the door. "Cheese and crackers," she repeated, more anxiously.

"Uhhh, bunny?" Finnick started to ask, a look of concern managing to break through his usual scowl. "You alright?"

"Cheese and crackers…" Judy repeated yet again. "Cheese and crackers, cheese and crackers, cheese and _freaking _crackers! What the hell were those things!?" She practically shouted, seemingly in the middle of a full blown panic attack.

"I don't know...I don't know…" Nick struggled to answer, still trying to defuse his own panic attack.

"You don't know?" Judy snapped at the fox. "What do you mean you don't know?!"

"The hell kind of question is _that!?"_ Nick shouted back. "You think I deal crap like this on a regular basis?!"

"I don't know!" Judy threw her arms up in frustration. "I'm freaking out here! This is all new to me! Mammals shooting at us or trying to run us down in APC's! Collapsing ruins nearly flattening or drowning us! Spikes ceilings coming down and darts flying at us! And now we've got freaking...monsters or something chasing us! I'm not used to any of this!"

"Well sorry to burst your bubble, but _that_…" Nick jammed a thumb at the door, muffled snarling and scraping of claws still very much audible. "Is uncharted territory for me!"

"Would you two both shut the hell up?" Finnick yelled. The argument came to a swift end as the bunny and fox both fixated on the old treasure hunter as he got up and brushed the dust off his pants. "I don't know if you morons have noticed, but we're in the middle of a godsdamn situation here. The last thing we need is for you two to keep freaking out and screaming at each other."

Judy blinked as her ears drooped behind her, a look of shame crossing her face. "You're right. I'm sorry...I...I can't afford to lose my head like that. Maybe I am just some helpless dumb bunny after all."

"Carrots, we just narrowly escaped from a pack of freaks straight out of a B monster movie hell bent on ripping all three of us into very bloody shreds," Nick said, trying to assure the bunny despite his own anxiety. "I think after something like that, we're well within our rights to have a panic attack or two before getting our shit together."

"Right...right..." Judy took a deep breath and got back on her feet. Her ears popped back up as her demeanour started returning to a semblance of normalcy. "But really, what were those things? I've never seen or heard mention of mammals like that before."

"No clue." Nick scratched the back of his head in thought. "They were acting savage...like they were on night howlers or something."

"Night howlers?" Finnick questioned. "We've both seen mammals on night howlers, Kid, and they sure as hell didn't look like that."

"Didn't they, though?" Nick replied. "Pissed off, bloodthirsty, looking to rip apart the first unlucky asshole to cross their path. That sure as hell sounds like savage to me. Or did you miss the part where Baju and Tanger wound up as their newest chew toys?"

"Going savage is one thing, but pitch blacks eyes and fur falling out? That ain't what night howlers do," Finnick said. "And they sure as hell don't twist prey and preds into gangly looking freaks with giant ass claws and fangs. No, whatever that was, it wasn't because of night howlers, that was something else entirely."

Nick struggled to come up with a plausible counter to Finnick's argument. But the more he thought about it, the less he was able to make sense of what happened. He had seen and heard his fair share of night howler stories, and while they would've explained the savage part, it wasn't enough to explain the rest. As messed up as night howlers were, they were at least natural. And there was nothing natural about those creatures or their appearance.

"What if it's the flowers?" Judy suggested.

"Flowers?" Nick raised a brow in confusion. "Come on, focus, Fluff. We just said it couldn't be night howlers."

"No, not night howlers, the other ones. You know, the ones in all the carvings and pictures, they look like white night howlers." Judy pointed to some of the carvings that lined the walls of the hallway. "What if those flowers are what did this to them?"

Given how focused they had been on their escape, Nick could be forgiven for not paying any mind to the carvings on the walls. But now that he was really paying attention, he could see that it almost looked like the mammals in the carvings were wielding or absorbing the flowers. It was as if the flowers were empowering them.

"So hold on, you're suggesting those flowers turned them or something?" Nick questioned. "Like some sort of freaky mutant night howler offshoot from hell?"

"Think about it," Judy insisted. "Those flowers are the one common theme linking everything we've seen since the start of all this. We've seen depictions of those flowers everywhere! I mean, that puzzle Dante had you solve at gunpoint seemed to suggest they were the source of Henosia's greatness, right? Not their wealth, not their culture, not their ideals, those flowers." If Nick didn't know better, it almost seemed like the reporter was starting to get excited. Was this how she would've been if she was still a cop and solving cases? "What if these weren't normal flowers? What if they could change mammals in ways even night howlers couldn't? Maybe the mammals of Henosia used them to make themselves stronger...faster...more powerful."

"And apparently turn them into savage mutants bordering on zombies," Finnick noted. "Why the hell would they think using shit like that is a good idea?"

"I don't know," Judy admitted, ears wilting as she tried to think of a reason. "Maybe they thought they could control it? Or perhaps there were long-term side effects they didn't know about? I don't know, it feels like there's something we're missing..."

"Dammit!" Nick growled in frustration. "I _hate _being in the dark like this. None of this crap makes any sense! With all the other clues Sir Francis left, why the hell couldn't he have put in a note or two saying 'Oh, by the way, the island's crawling with savage mutants looking to shred you to pieces. Maybe tread lightly.'"

"Sir Francis…" Judy muttered in thought, the mention of the dead explorer's name seeming to set something off for her. Her eyes suddenly lit up and she energetically pointed at the fox. "Wait, that's it! Sir Francis' note!"

"The note?" Nick asked in befuddlement before his memory was jogged by the realization of what the bunny meant. "The note!" He reached into his satchel, pulling out the slip of paper he had taken off of Sir Francis. The same one he had tried to read earlier, only to get distracted and end up forgetting about it amidst all the chaos. "It was all rushed and frantic, not like his usual writing. He must've been cornered and written that before those things had a chance to kill him."

"What does it say?" Finnick asked.

"Anything about those mammals or the flowers?" Judy added.

"Gimme a sec," Nick said, waving at the two to be patient. He stared down at the slip of paper, hesitating for a moment as he let the finality of it sink in, this was probably the last thing his ancestor had ever written. Finally ready, he began reading it out loud.

_"My end is near, the devils hunt for me in the darkness. The sacred flowers of Henosia bear a terrible curse. The city's inhabitants and the Blackhorns have been consumed, twisted into demons._ _My crew have all been murdered, and the ships destroyed. Such a twisted evil can never leave these shores. In my final moments, I commend my soul to the gods. May they mercy on this unholy place."_

_"Francis Wilde."_

"My gods…" Nick muttered in shock, reeling from the note's revelations.

"Cheese and holy bapping crackers…" Judy muttered. "He must've scuttled the Blackhorn fleet to make sure those flowers never got off the island. I mean those things wiped out Henosia, think of how much destruction they could cause if they were ever taken from this place."

"Or how much money you could make selling and weaponizing that shit," Finnick added.

"Weaponize?" Judy practically gasped in shock. "What kind of maniac would want to weaponize something like that?"

"Dante…" Nick answered, staring intently at the flower carvings on the wall as realization set in. "He doesn't care about the city, or even the treasure. He's here for the flowers. He must've known about them from the beginning."

"'Let's just say you didn't steal _all _of my files,'" Judy said, recalling the zebra's taunt. "If he could get his hooves on enough bulbs, he'd probably be able to mass produce and sell them on the black market."

"Makes sense in a twisted and demented sort of way," Finnick said, nodding in thought. "With the right buyer, that shit could easily be worth ten times the value of all the treasure on this island combined."

"If those flowers are what Dante's here for, then there's no way we can let him and Cackler get their greasy mitts on them." Judy stood up resolutely, shooting the two foxes a look that dared them to even try and argue with her. "We have to stop them."

"Well, as much as it kills me to say this," Finnick began. "I agree with the bunny on this one. Sure as hell ain't going to be able to kick back and relax with a nice gal on the beach if it's crawling with those freaks because that asshole Dante sold a bunch of those flowers to some prick warlord." He tilted his head towards Nick. "Besides, somebody's gotta pick up the slack since your pal Sir Francis dropped the ball, right, Kid?"

Nick didn't answer, just staring back down at the ring around his neck, gripping it in his paw as he looked at its inscription once again.

_Sic Parvis Magna_.

The fox had yet to figure out what greatness really meant to him. But at the very least, stopping two psycho's and their army from unleashing some sort of super night howlers on steroids onto the world was probably as good of a start as any.

"Nice to know a tendency towards suicide missions runs in the family," Nick said with a cocky grin as he looked back up at his friends. "Guess it's time to pick up where ol' Sir Francis left off on this whole saving the world thing."

"Alright, then. Time to get moving and make the world a better place," Judy said, eagerly hopping in the air with a raised fist.

"Not so much making it better, Fluff, as preventing it from becoming a hell of a lot shittier," Nick quipped at the bunny.

"Oh...well...that works too, I guess," she said, her eagerness only slightly blunted. "Now let's go stop Dante and Cackler!"

"Alright," Nick nodded in agreement. "Dante seemed pretty hell bent on finding that 'Sacred Garden,' and since we haven't seen any of those weird ass flowers since we got here, I'm willing to bet that's where they'll be."

"Then to the Sacred Garden it is!" Judy said excitedly, pausing awkwardly once she realized the problem with their plan. "Uhh, quick question: Do we have any idea where it is?"

"Uhh…" Nick froze, he didn't have an answer. "Crap…"

The faint echo of a distant blast rang through the hallway amidst the awkward silence, the ears of all three mammals swivelling in its direction. It would do as a decent enough solution.

"Well, this is Coastline we're talking about, so that part shouldn't be a problem," Finnick said with a shrug. "Just gotta follow the explosions."

* * *

_AN: __Well, that was one hell of a crazy revelation, wouldn't you say? As if just getting out alive wasn't enough, I go ahead and up the stakes even more, no pressure for those guys, though, right? :D_

_We're getting pretty close to the end now. Only got four chapters left to go. I hope you guys stick around for them because I'll be here writing them. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this one and until next time, Sic Parvis Magna!_


	24. To the Garden

_AN: __Hey, everybody! Hope you all have been having a good Christmas and/or Holiday season! Back again with another chapter, and on the two-year anniversary of my first post, too (Well, my first post on AO3 at least, but eh, details)! Man, we've sure come a long way since that first chapter, to think it'll finally be over in the next few months._

_Anyway, I hope you guys all enjoy it. Now without further ado, on with the chapter!_

* * *

"You sure we're heading the right way?"

"Mostly."

"Mostly? Nick, we can't afford to only be 'mostly' sure. Not with what's at stake!"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, Carrots. Fate of the world and all that," Nick said. "Doesn't change the fact we're kinda lacking in viable alternatives. Unless you bunnies have some secret sixth sense that can magically sense ancient gardens filled with doomsday flowers. Do you happen to have a secret sixth sense that can magically sense ancient gardens filled with doomsday flowers? Because a secret sixth sense that can magically sense ancient gardens filled with doomsday flowers would be really great right about now."

"Not the time for cracking jokes, Nick…" Judy deadpanned, giving the fox an unamused stare. "Especially ones as repetitive as that."

"Hardly the time to try and think up a new plan from scratch, either, which is why we're sticking with this one." A blast echoed through the hallway they were heading through as if to reinforce Nick's point. "See? They're getting louder, so we're probably heading in the direction. Besides, it's not like you've made more than your fair share of gambles since we got here."

"Seriously, bunny, you need to quit obsessing over this shit, it's too late to rethink things. We're in the endgame now, we either pull this off with what we've got, or we don't and we're all screwed," Finnick cut in. "It's as simple as that. Besides, you two should really be more focused on whatever we run into when we get to the garden. Dante sure as hell ain't gonna just roll over and let us torch those flowers if we ask nicely."

"Right...hey, speaking of that," Nick looked over at the doe. "How many bullets left in the gun, Fluff?"

Judy popped the magazine out of the gun, their _only _gun, and counted the bullets before popping it back in. It didn't take long.

"Three."

"Three!?" Nick exclaimed. "Seriously!?"

"Well, what do you expect?" She shot back. "After that whole nightmare, it's a miracle we have any ammo left at all."

"Okay, good point. Alive with no ammo beats death with a full mag," Nick said. "But, still, three freaking bullets? Dante and Cackler are gonna have an entire army down there with them. How the hell are we supposed to deal with that? Pelt 'em with rocks and harsh language?"

"You're better off with your dumb jokes over harsh language, Kid," Finnick said. "At least the jokes might annoy 'em enough that they'll die of an aneurysm or something."

"Not helping, Gramps…"

"Who said I was helping?" Finnick shrugged. "Besides, you already know the answer to that question anyway."

"...Improvise?"

"Improvise."

"Great…"

"Now that I think about it, it's not like our plans ever work anyway," Judy remarked.

"Yeah, well, you know the saying," Finnick said. "All plans get whacked in the balls as soon as the enemy shows up."

Nick and Judy both just stared at the desert fox in silence. "...Pretty sure that's not the saying, Gramps."

"My way sounds better," Finnick said with a dismissive scoff. "I'm sure Tanger could attest to how devastating that can be."

"He probably could if he wasn't dead…"

As the three of them continued down the passage, they came upon a breach in one of the walls. Its shape and the pattern of the scattered stone on the ground suggested that this part of the wall had been blown out by an explosive from the other side.

"Guess we know what they've been doing with those explosives," Nick said.

As the fox peered through the breach in the wall, he saw that it opened up to a much larger hallway. The walls were lined with carvings of the city and ferocious looking mammals along with the cursed flowers that had seemingly brought about the civilization's collapse. The floor was scuffed with the fresh looking marks of various foot and hoofprints.

"That's…a lot of footprints," Judy said, a hint of anxiousness in her voice. She clearly wasn't looking forward to the idea of a firefight with a group of that size. Not that Nick could blame her, to say that their fights against Coastline were hectic would be like saying nighthowlers make mammals agitated.

"Yeah," Nick nodded. "But at least we know we're on the right track. And I'm betting Dante and that garden will be waiting for us at the end."

"Bastard always loved to have a front row seat for witnessing the fruits of whatever sketchy shit he'd manage to get others to do for him," Finnick said in a bitter tone. "Better be able to burn him along with those damn flowers when we finally catch up with that asshole."

The three of them carefully proceeded through the newly discovered hallway, on guard for any sign of Coastline mercs or savage mammals laying in wait. They were not in the mood for any more surprises, especially the kinds involving hot lead, fangs, and claws flying at them. Occasionally, they'd hear the muffled sound of a blast or find another breach in one of the walls.

"I don't get it," Judy said.

"Don't get what?" Nick asked.

"The explosives," she answered, gesturing to another breached path branching off from the hallway. "Tanger said Dante found the Sacred Garden, so why are they still blasting through the ruins?"

"Good question," Nick scratched the side of his head as he pondered the mystery. "I mean, they are pretty dumb. They'd have to be if they think blasting their way through ancient and highly unstable ruins is a good idea."

"Being idiots is one thing, but even Coastline wouldn't blow shit up for the hell of it," Finnick argued. "There's gotta be a reason for it."

"Dante mentioned something about a surface team didn't he?" Nick asked, recalling something the zebra had said after their capture. "Something about the team tracking their position?"

"Yeah, I remember him saying that, too," Judy said, nose and ears twitching as she tried to figure out the implications. "And they had a lot of explosives stacked up on the surface, more than enough to reach the garden. What if they were also using it to blast a way out?"

"You mean an escape route?" Nick raised a brow at the bunny's suggestion.

"Probably would be too much work to drag all those flowers out the way they came. Especially if those savage freaks don't take kindly to them trying to take the stuff," Finnick suggested. "Blast a quick path out from the Sacred Garden so they can get that shit out of here before the savages catch them or the whole place comes crashing down."

Another blast rocked the halls, this one far louder than any before. The ground started to tremble for a few moments, the sound of cracking stone somewhere out of sight and dust falling from above before things started to settle down.

"Well, they sure as hell don't care about keeping this place intact." Nick looked up at the ceiling warily, paranoid that it might come crashing down on them at any moment.

"Probably getting those freaks good and riled up as well," Finnick added.

"That too…"

"Then we need to hurry." Judy passed the foxes, forcing them to pick up the pace.

Eventually, the hallway opened up to a spacious multi-floored chamber. A set of stairs in the center led up to a second partially collapsed floor that went around the edge of the room. There were ancient pillars carved to resemble regal looking mammals surrounding the room that reached from the ground floor all the way up to the ceiling. Pathways on both floors branched off to seemingly empty chambers along with an arched pathway that passed directly beneath the stairway. At the top of the stairs was a set of heavy looking stone doors that seemed to tower over everything. Despite its weathered state, there was an air of gravity to the room, as if it was an antechamber to something monumentally important.

Nick let out an impressed whistle. "Well, this looks rather distinct. What do you bet this means we're almost to the garden?"

"Large elaborate chamber with massive stone doors, an unsettling air of foreboding, and statues of mammals that probably never worked a day in their lives?" Finnick said, glancing around the room. "Yeah, I'd say that's the exact sort of thing a society with no sense of restraint would use to scream at you that you're somewhere important."

Nick made his way towards the stairs when he suddenly stopped, a sense of unease washing over him. "Anybody else think it's weird that we haven't seen any Coastline? You'd think they'd at least have some sentries to watch the entrance."

"Well, they definitely passed through," Judy responded, gesturing to the footprints leading up the stairs. She then looked over at something in the corner of the room. "But it looks like they left something behind." She pointed at a pile of steel cases sitting against the side wall. Some of them lay open and empty, the foam outlines of whatever they had been holding prominently displayed.

"Well those certainly aren't in keeping with the city's…'vintage' aesthetic," Nick said. He started searching through the boxes, looking for anything of use.

"The mammals with Dante and Cackler weren't carrying those," the bunny noted, brushing over the cases with a paw. "They must've been brought in from the surface through one of the other paths they blasted open."

"Probably had those surface teams re-supply and reinforce them after we gave them the slip. Can imagine those traps they set off did a real number on them." Nick opened up one of the closed boxes to reveal its contents, a semi-automatic Musteller M-30 rifle and several magazines. He was more than happy to pick up the ammo and the weapon, slinging it over his shoulder. He looked through several more boxes and found a couple of grenades for his trouble, quick to clip them to his belt. Odds were he'd probably need to put all that stuff to good use soon enough.

"Which means Dante has his exit route, freaking figures," Finnick growled as he dove into the pile of cases. After some shuffling and tossing aside of empty cases, he finally crawled back out with a rather large pawcannon gripped in his paws and several pistol magazines that he tossed to Judy. "Figured you needed the pick-me up, bunny."

"What is it with you and comically oversized weapons?" Nick asked, quirking his brow at the desert fox.

"Hey, even small things can pack a huge punch, I like to think that applies to all things in life." Finnick grinned as he holstered the weapon and pulled out a set of radios, pocketing one for himself and tossing the other to Nick. "Also found these and figured they might be useful."

"That's a lot of gear to bring down here just to end up ditching," Nick said as he caught the radio in his paws. "Wonder what had them in such a rush?"

"If I had to guess, it'd probably be the savage mammals," Judy said. "Entire search party goes dark, probably a good sign that something's gone wrong and that they need to get out with the flowers as fast as they can."

"You think so?" Nick asked.

"Seems likely." Judy gestured at a pillar with an antelope of some kind carved into it in the corner. "That and the fact that some of the savages already tried to jump them."

Looking past the rabbit to the pillar, Nick could see several of the grey skinned savage mammals in question, all dead and piled in the corner. Given the nature of the wounds, it was safe to assume they had all been shot. "Oh...yeah I guess that'd do it too."

"We'd better hurry it up, then." Finnick spun the chamber of his revolver, making sure it was loaded. "If they're spooked and rushing, that means they're being sloppy, so we might be able to catch 'em by surprise. And now that we're locked and loaded, this'll be our best shot at taking them down."

The desert fox started making his way up the steps towards the massive set of stone doors while Nick and Judy followed behind. As they reached the top, they could see the mess of foot and hoofprints going right through the doors.

"Those look pretty heavy," Judy said as she placed her paws on the stone. "Think we need to find another way through?"

"Let's just give it a push first," Nick suggested. "See how stubborn they are."

The foxes and bunny started pressing their weight against the door. Despite their size, the doors offered less resistance than they were expecting, or at least they didn't at first. The trio managed to gradually push them open until the doors connected with something on the other side that brought their efforts to a halt. They tried to push again, only for the doors to again collide against whatever it was, the sound of clattering metal and stone ringing out from the other side.

"They barricaded the door," Nick realized.

"Then that means it leads somewhere important," Finnick concluded.

"Alright, if it was a rush job, we might be able to force it open." Nick braced himself against the door, ready to shove again. "On the count of three guys. One. Two. Three!"

All three of them threw their weight into the doors. The impact barely even made the doors budge. The barricade behind rattled slightly under the blow, but otherwise, the barrier seemed unaffected.

"That's not very promising," Judy said, rubbing her arm.

"Even a rushed barricade is gonna be too heavy for us to move, Kid," Finnick pointed out. "We gotta find something else."

"No, it moved a bit," Nick said. "We just gotta keep trying."

They rammed the doors a second time. Nick wasn't entirely certain if the doors had budged at all this time, or if they had just bounced off the barricade blocking the way.

"Again!"

"Kid, even if we can knock that barrier down, it's gonna take us way too long," Finnick argued. "This ain't working."

"Again!" Nick growled, ignoring his partner and readying himself to throw his weight against the door once again. Before he had a chance to, something slammed into his side and sent him towards the ground. He hadn't even landed before a loud crack went off from somewhere behind and a small chunk of one of the doors suddenly burst as something struck it.

"Coastline!" Judy shouted in Nick's ear, evidently being the 'something' in question that had slammed into him.

Nick looked at the damaged door and saw a red dot where the missing chunk was, a dot that was quickly moving down to the two of them on the ground.

"Crap!" The fox held onto Judy and rolled both of them out of the way. As they sprung to their feet, a whole team of mercenaries started pouring out of a passage on the second floor on the opposite side of the room.

"Move it you two!" Finnick shouted, waving them over to one of the pillars he was hiding behind. Nick and Judy were quick to oblige and dive behind the cover as the mercenaries proceeded to air their grievances on the group the only way they knew how, by blasting the shit out of them and their cover.

"Bastards must've been waiting for us!" Finnick yelled, leaning out to fire at the mercenaries and managing to nail an overly ambitious cheetah that had thought trying to jump down to the exposed first floor was a good idea.

"Take 'em out!" One merc yelled. "Boss said there's a bonus for whoever brings in their corpses!"

"Godsdammit, do you assholes mind? We were kind of in the middle of something!" Nick shouted at the mercs as he pulled out his rifle and returned fire. He managed to hit a zebra, the shot causing the mammal to stagger and stumble over the edge of the second floor, crashing down into the stone floor below.

That display managed to spook the zebra's partner, a goat with a sniper rifle gripped in his hooves, probably the same one that had jumped the gun and tried to shoot him moments earlier. Seeing his partner go down, the mammal lost his nerve and ducked down behind cover.

There was a bit of a gap where the second floor had partially collapsed that managed to separate Nick and the others from their Coastline adversaries on the other side of the room. It was at least enough to give them a bit of breathing room, or it would've been if not for a lion that had the admittedly less stupid idea of charging and leaping across the gap.

"Cat closing in fast!" Nick popped out and fired at the feline merc, hitting his knee and causing him to stumble. As the mercenary fell over, his gun went flying from his paws and clattered against one of the pillars.

Judy charged and leaped towards the predator before he had a chance to act, planting a foot in his face that sent him tumbling down the gap he had just leaped across. There was a sound of cracking bone as the lion hit the floor.

"Get your fluffy ass back here, Bunny, ASAP!" Finnick yelled over the roar of his own revolver. "Before one of those idiots manages to get a lucky shot."

The area around Judy exploded with heavy weapons fire as the rabbit was caught in a sudden barrage. Jumping on all fours, she leaped back towards cover as fast as she could.

Managing to rise above the chorus of gunfire was the thunderous booming of a heavy machine gun, the massive rounds slamming into the pillar and forcing the trio to instinctively cover their vitals as if the shots had somehow punched right through columns of solid stone and hit them. Somebody was packing some serious firepower.

"Come on, Wilde! Show yourself!" a deep voice boomed over the bursts of heavy machine gun fire. Peeking out to look, Nick saw that among the mercenaries, there was a familiar looking elephant advancing towards them. The megafauna was covered from head to hoof in heavy armour and gripping the GRLK heavy machine gun that was currently demolishing their cover.

"Okay, that's definitely not good," Nick gulped as he ducked back down. "As if we didn't have enough crap to deal with, they left us the freaking tank on hooves to deal with. Please tell me he can't clear that gap."

"You seriously want to wait and find out?" Finnick growled, peeking out to snap off a couple shots before being forced back down by a fierce rebuttal of retaliatory fire.

Seizing on the moment, Nick ducked out from the other side of the pillar and fired at the elephant. Despite every shot nailing the armoured merc, the mammal barely even reacted. As the rounds harmlessly bounced off his armour, he merely glanced at the fox and started firing at him instead.

"Well, crap, that didn't work..." Nick frustratedly bemoaned once he was back behind cover, the machine gun already starting to perforate the hell out of the stone pillar.

"That shit didn't work on the buffalo, why the hell did you think it was gonna work on this asshole?" Finnick snarled.

"Was kinda hoping that having a bigger gun would do the rick …"

"I'm seriously trying to remember why the hell I'm your partner right now."

"What about one of those grenades?" Judy yelled, gesturing at the two attached to Nick's belt.

"Worth a shot," Nick said, pulling one from his belt. "Not like I have any better ideas. You two get his attention for me."

The rabbit and desert fox both nodded. Once they were certain they wouldn't get gunned down within moments of stepping out, they ran for the adjacent pillar, firing wildly as they did. It was enough to catch the attention of the mercs who all brought their weapons to bear, the elephant included.

Once Nick saw the line of fire shift, he leaped out of cover, pulling the pin and throwing the grenade at the megafauna. His aim was dead on as the explosive landed right in front of the distracted mercenary. He didn't even have time to notice before it detonated.

_*BOOM!*_

The elephant let out a pained grunt, the force of the blast nearly causing him to stumble over. The explosive left quite a mark on the merc, parts of his armour looked like it had been shredded or blasted off, and the elephant himself seemed to be having trouble staying steady.

Unfortunately for Nick though, the universe was a massive asshole out to get him, so of course the stubborn elephant would refuse to go down. Once the stunned mercenary managed to regain his footing, he glared daggers at the fox. Even from across the room and with a full faceplate covering him, Nick could still tell exactly what he was thinking. That guy wanted to show the treasure hunter exactly where he could stick those grenades of his.

"Aw, come on!" Nick groaned as the heavily armoured Coastline merc unleashed another barrage of heavy weapons fire. Even more frustratedly, the injury hadn't seemed to be enough to hinder the elephant as he was able to clear the gap as well despite the gear he was carrying.

"Get out of there, Kid!" Finnick yelled from somewhere below him. Looking over, Nick saw the adjacent pillar abandoned, Judy and Finn apparently having ditched it. Given how close the elephant was now, he couldn't really blame them. It wouldn't be much longer until the merc and that oversized cannon of his were right on top of him.

With no space left to hide, Nick pulled the pin on his second grenade and dropped it right next to the pillar, the ordinance landing right in front of the advancing mercenary.

"What?!" his deep voice boomed out in surprise, ceasing fire as he tried to shield himself from the blast with the parts of his armour that were still intact.

Nick didn't even wait for the blast to go off as he rushed out the other side and leaped off the edge, dropping down to the first floor just as the grenade exploded.

_*BOOM!*_

Ignoring the blast, he darted through the passage underneath the stairway and out the other side, running into Finn and Judy hiding behind the stairway itself.

"Please tell me that did it," Nick said, back against the wall as he finally took the time to reload his rifle.

There was a loud crack as the elephant dropped down from the second floor, landing hard enough to fracture the stone beneath him. Nick poked his head out to get a glimpse once he was sure a merc wouldn't blow his head off. He saw the elephant down on all fours, coughing as he slowly and painfully pulled himself up.

"You're gonna pay for that one, ya damn brakk!" the elephant bellowed between fits of coughing. Nick could see blood dripping from wounds somewhere on the merc. That mammal had taken one hell of a beating. Even his armour seemed to be barely holding together, the second blast leaving it even more mangled than before.

"I'm gonna guess that wasn't enough…" Judy answered.

"Godsdamn, that guy must be going on pure rage at this point," Finnick said. "You always did have a talent for pissing people off, Kid."

"A talent I'm more than happy to boast about after we finally finish this guy off, assuming he doesn't just keel over first." Nick took aim with his rifle, but he underestimated just how much fight the merc still had when heavy calibre bullets started slamming into the stairway. As the stone guardrail started to shatter, he ducked back down before those high-calibre rounds could do the same thing to his face.

"Okay, never mind. Guess we're right back to-" the fox noticed movement up above and a faint trace of red.

"Sniper!" Nick yelled, quickly taking aim and firing a rapid series of shots at the goat sharpshooter that had been trying to get the jump on them. The merc bleated in pain as several shots struck him and he fell backwards out of sight.

Nick was about to suggest they relocate when the sound of more rifle fire coming from behind caused him to dive backwards, flying out of the way just before the spot he was crouched down behind got lit up. As he hit the ground, his rifle slipped from his paws and tumbled out of reach. Glancing up at the second floor and seeing a jackal trying to track him, Nick abandoned the weapon and flung himself behind the closest pillar that could adequately shield him.

Once certain he wasn't about to get shot, the treasure hunter began looking around for where his friends ended up only to stop when he felt something grabbing at his waist. Looking down, he saw a trail of rope attached to his grappling hook in Finnick's paw as the desert fox ran out and threw it at the merc.

The jackal was so caught off guard by the move that he didn't even realize what was happening until the hook dug into his side and Finnick was already yanking him down. The surprised merc was sent tumbling over the edge of the second floor with a scream, slamming hard against the ground floor right in front of them. He briefly twitched after the impact before ceasing all movement.

"Holy crap, Gramps…" Nick muttered in amazement as his diminutive partner rushed back to him.

"Where the hell's your gun, Kid?" Finnick growled as he passed the grappling hook back.

"Uhh…" Nick looked back at the rifle, now lying motionless on the ground out in the open as the other mercs finally dropped down to resume their onslaught. "Oh...right…"

"Are you freaking kidding me? We might've actually been able to finish their heavy off with that thing," Finnick snarled. He vented his frustration on the mercs, firing several shots before being forced back by overwhelming firepower. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Wasn't really thinking, was mainly trying not to get shot…"

"Well good for you, cause now I guess we just get to sit here on our asses until they've finished taking our freaking cover apart," Finnick growled. "Unless you've got a plan."

"Maybe? Just need to see how Carrot's doing. Uhh, speaking of which..." Nick turned around to look for her. "Where is she?"

Noticing movement over at the adjacent wall, he spotted the bunny moving from cover to cover between barrages, getting into position to flank the advancing mercs. She glanced back at the two foxes and gave them a thumbs up.

"Carrots, no!" Nick wasn't sure if the bunny could hear him over the gunfire from that far away so he frantically waved at the bunny to stop. "Whatever you're thinking, stop thinking it!"

Judy just shook her head, gesturing to her gun in one paw and revealing a grenade she was holding in the other. Where had she even gotten that anyway?

"She's not going to listen, is she?" Nick glanced at Finnick and then back at the rabbit.

Judy shook the grenade and then pointed at the mercenaries reinforcing the injured elephant. She then pointed at the stairs, legs bent and separated with her arms pumped like she was going to sprint. Finally, she pointed at Nick's Musteller M-30 laying on the ground and then back at the elephant.

"Nope," Finnick said. "Which means you better move fast or your bunny's cottontail ass is gonna be left hanging in the breeze."

"Crap…" Nick muttered, giving the bunny a firm nod that hopefully conveyed his intention. He'd be ready, but he was not even remotely happy about it.

Judy just nodded in response, pulling the pin on her grenade and gripping it tightly as she waited for the ideal moment. Nick wasn't quite sure he'd have considered it the ideal moment when she finally lobbed the grenade into the middle of the group, but his opinion on the matter didn't really matter much.

The grenade landed right between a pair of oryx mercenaries, too far from the elephant to have any impact on him, but just in the right spot to decimate most of the group and scatter the rest. While the elephant was too focused on Nick and Finnick to see the grenade, the rest of the squad sure as hell noticed, staring down at the beeping ordinance in shock before trying to run.

_*BOOM!*_

The blast went off before the oryx's even had any real chance to move, the explosion sending them flying right into the wall.

As the group scattered, Judy sprang forward, sprinting across the room and up the stairway as fast as she could. It took the elephant merc a moment to notice her, and even then, his injuries hindered his reaction time as he started firing at her, struggling to keep up with her rapid movements.

Nick made his move and dashed out of cover, heading straight for his rifle. He grabbed it and focused his fire on the distracted elephant, unloading an entire magazine into the megafauna.

That finally proved to be too much abuse for the elephant to handle. He let out a final pained grunt as his GRLK slipped from his grip and he pitched forward, falling onto his knees and grasping at his wounds before he finally collapsed. One of his tusks snapped as he hit the stone floor face and trunk first.

"Holy shit, you are one crazy bunny," Nick gasped in awe, reloading his rifle as he watched the bunny walk down the stairs.

"Guess you've been wearing off on me," Judy replied with a cocky grin, winking at the fox.

"Not the time for self-congratulatory crap, you two," Finnick barked at them as he fired at the pillars on the opposite edge of the room. "Or did you forget we got some more of these assholes to deal with?"

"Oh crap, that's right." Nick and Judy both took cover behind the stairs, ready to engage the last two mercs. Oddly enough, the mercs didn't seem very eager to fire at them. A tense silence followed as neither side took any further action.

"So...does this mean we're done fighting?" Judy called out, just as confused by the lul in action as Nick was.

"Uhh, you know what?" One of the mercs finally called out, sticking his head out to reveal the muzzle of a hyena. "I say...ya. think we might just call it a day. Ya know, let you fella's just get on with...whatever you're doing."

"What? Are you a blimmin' dompkof or something?" the merc's partner growled, a small cape fox whose stature rather strongly resembled that of Finnick's, albeit with a much browner shade of fur and far younger in appearance. "We can't just let 'em go. Besides, we can take 'em."

"Bru, are you daft or something?" the hyena barked back. "We got the jump on those three and they _still _took out the whole squad. Hell, they even wasted Rompah. I ain't getting paid enough to throw myself at anybody who has _that _kind of luck."

"You know, we wouldn't look down on you guys if you just left," Judy called out. "I mean, not like you want to just throw your lives away on a lost cause or anything."

"Well, they're mercs, Bunny," Finnick said, his revolver still trained on their position. "Not like our opinion of these idiots could sink any lower. That being said, it'd be less of a headache for us if said idiots just turned tail and ran."

"Screw that!" the cape fox merc barked back, rather boldly stepping out from cover. "I ain't running with my tail between my legs from some sandy furred geezer and his lackeys like tha-"

_*BANG!* _

Finnick cut the merc off with a blast from his revolver, the round managing to clip the tip of the fox's ear.

"Mother-freaking-brakker!" the merc yelled out in pain as he grasped at his clipped ear.

"Right, screw this! I'm outta here!" the hyena merc whimpered, turning tail and sprinting out of the room.

"You blimmin' coward, get the hell back here!" the fox roared. Paw still holding his injured ear, he glanced at Nick and the others, then back at the passage his partner had run through. Letting out an irritated growl, he finally ran after the hyena. "Don't even think of running off without me, you asshole!" The padding of footsteps gradually faded as the mercenary got further and further away until there was just silence.

"Well then, I guess that's that taken care of." Nick slung his rifle over his shoulder. "Now back to getting that door open…"

"We're not trying to push it open again," Judy cut in. Glancing over, Nick saw her rifling through one of the dead oryx mercenaries, pulling off a belt with several grenades attached.

"Blasting our way through?" Finnick remarked, eyeing the grenades warily. "Can't help but feel a bit hypocritical after all the piss we took out of Coastline for doing the exact same thing."

"Plus, aren't you opposed to the whole blowing up ruins thing?" Nick pointed out. "Preservation of history and all that?"

"Okay, first, a bit late to be worried about that given all the damage we and Coastline have been causing since we got here," Judy said as she pulled the belt loose. "Second, Coastline seems rather determined to blow this place up anyways regardless of what we do, so what's one more explosion to add to the mix?" She headed up the stairs and set the grenades down in front of the door. "And third, as much as I value the preservation of mammalian history, I'm also the kind of bunny who thinks the fate of the world should take priority."

"Okay, fair point," Nick remarked, tail and ears sinking a bit in mild embarrassment. "You going to let us know when you're ready to set them off?"

"Already did," Judy answered, sprinting down the stairway as fast as she could. "Take cover!"

"Woah!" Nick dove behind the closest pillar and covered his ears. A muffled blast followed shortly afterwards as the treasure hunter felt a shockwave radiate through his body. Peering out, he saw a smoking hole and cracked stone rubble where the set of doors had been, the pathway forward now laid bare to them.

"Okay, a little reckless, but you got the door open." Nick brushed himself off as he stepped out and made for the staircase. "Back to that whole saving the world business, then. That and maybe getting to kick Dante's ass along the way."

"Hold up, Kid. Aren't you forgetting something important?" Finnick asked, firmly gripping the red fox's waist before he could go any further. "We need to make sure we have a way out of here."

"Wait, what?"

"We need an escape plan," Judy clarified. "Between all the Coastline down here, the savage mammals, and the increasing instability of these ruins in no small part thanks to all of the blasting Coastline has been doing-" Judy was cut off as another of said blasts went off somewhere in the ruins. The whole chamber rumbled briefly and dust fell from the ceiling. "Yeah...just like that."

"Shit…" Nick muttered, pacing back and forth as he considered their problem. "We'll probably need to leave in a hurry, and it's not like finding a way off this island is something we can just do half-cocked. We'll need a path and a boat."

"Which means less of us to go after Cackler and Dante…" Finnick stated. "That sure as hell ain't ideal."

Nick glanced at his partners and then at the entrance to the Sacred Garden, wracking his mind as he tried to think of a viable plan. But in the end, he could only think of one that he was willing to accept. It sucked, but it was what he considered the least horrible.

"Alright," he finally decided. "You two double back and find a way out. I'll go after Dante and Cackler."

"What?" Judy questioned in disbelief.

"Like hell we're doing that, Kid!"

"Look, I'm the reason we're all in this mess. My damn pride demanded I show up Dante no matter who else got dragged along with me," Nick argued. "Making sure you two get out of here alive is the least I can do."

"This isn't just about us, Nick," Judy snapped back, the determined look in her eyes making it clear she wasn't going anywhere. "Not anymore!"

"Turning and running ain't gonna do us much good if you screw this up and Dante gets off the island with those flowers," Finnick added, jabbing a clawed digit into the red fox's chest. "Your buddy Sir Francis tried doing this shit on his own and you saw how he ended up."

Nick winced briefly at the reminder. They were right, he probably wouldn't be able to do this on his own, hell, even all three of them together would have pretty low odds. Between the small army of Coastline already in the Sacred Garden and all the savages crawling around the ruins, they would be hard pressed to get out of this mess at all. Although that being said…

"Okay, so running is out of the question. But it's still best to have somebody take one of the exit routes," Nick suggested.

"Godsdammit, Kid! Stop trying to send us away, we're all or nothing on this," Finnick barked angrily.

"No, Nick has a point," Judy cut in, realizing where he was going with this. "We know they have teams doing something up on the surface, it might be good for us to have a mammal up there to keep tabs on them in case they try something."

"Huh, and since we got two radios..." Finnick reached for the one he had clipped to his belt, keying it on and off. "Whoever's outside could warn the others if anything's going on…"

"So Gramps," Nick said, shooting the smaller fox a smug grin. "Are you volunteering for the job?"

"What? Why me? You looking to dump the easy job on me cause you're worried I'm too banged up to take on Dante and Cackler? Is that what this is about? I told you what I'd do to the next one of you that tries to coddle me."

"Finn, you'd have to sneak back up to the surface by yourself without getting caught by any savages. Or Coastline teams for that matter, teams that probably know where we are by now given the firefight we started right outside of the Sacred Garden," Judy pointed out. "That's not really what I'd call the 'easy' job."

"Easier than taking on whatever surprise Dante and Cackler got set up ahead," Finnick said. It sounded like he was going to press the matter, but another blast rocked the chamber, reminding them that arguing was not exactly the most optimal use of their limited time. "Bah, screw it. I'll go, but I ain't gonna be happy about it."

"When are you ever, Gramps?" Nick said with a smirk, then turning to nod at Judy. "Guess it's just the two of us then."

"Great...bad things tend to happen when it's just us," Judy mumbled. Her face lit up though the second she saw the dejected look the fox gave her. "But I'm sure I'll be able to bail us out of whatever mess you get us into down here."

"Oof, low blow, Fluff. Low blow," Nick said, faking a grimace. "Going after a fox's pride like that."

"Let's just hope an injured pride is the worst thing to happen to you down here." Judy looked at Finnick, giving the desert fox a firm nod. "You take care of yourself up there."

"I'll be fine, Bunny," Finnick said with a wink. "You be sure to take care of the idiot." He nodded his head at Nick to emphasize the point.

"Gramps, mam, I'm standing right here." Nick stuck his arms out, giving the older fox an irritated look.

"I know." Finnick grinned. "You just make sure whatever trouble you get in ain't too much for the bunny to bail you out of.

"Gee, thanks," Nick deadpanned. "I assume you have a plan for how to find out which path leads to the surface?"

"Well, I clipped that ugly fox's ear." Finnick nodded at the trail of blood leading out of the room. "Idiot probably left a decent enough trail to follow up to the surface."

"Okay, that works." Nick gave his mentor a thumbs up. "Stay safe, Gramps."

"You too, Kid," Finnick waved back. "And stay in touch." He gestured to the radio then disappeared through the exit.

"Alright then." Nick clapped his paws together as he turned to face the demolished set of doors at the top of the stairway. "Guess it's just the two of us going after the freaky death flowers, two psychos, and gods knows how many savages and mercs. You ready?"

"Not really." Judy shook her head. Despite the answer, her voice was firm. "But not like I've ever let that stop me before."

"Nope, I can't imagine it ever has." Nick grinned at the bunny and then gestured to the passageway. "Lead on, then."

The two of them climbed up the bullet-riddled stairway and through the shattered remnants of the doors. They looked down into the foreboding passage that stood before them. The last barrier had fallen, there was nothing left between them and the Sacred Garden. Whatever came next was up to the two of them now. They each took a deep breath in anticipation and then stepped forward, following the passage towards whatever awaited them at the very heart of the city.

* * *

_AN: And there we go, on to the final confrontation (Or at least the start of it, anyways). There's only three chapters left to go, hope you all enjoy seeing how it finally plays out as much as I do._

_Until next time then, Sic Parvis Magna!_


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